Lidded box, from set of funerary offerings

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This paper-covered cardboard box, bought from a funerary goods supplier in Singapore, is the container for a set of paper and cardboard offerings for a man. The offerings represent a full set of symbolic possessions for the afterlife.

The box is of cardboard, with a decorated paper covering to make it look like an ornate wooden chest. The lid lifts off. On the front is a label with a character which reads 'man', indicating that the goods are for a dead man.

These symbolic possessions are burned in a night-time Daoist funerary ceremony, several weeks after the deceased's cremation. It is a widespread contemporary tradition in south-east Asia. The cardboard items are burned to ensure a comfortable afterlife.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-004-214-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  K.1999.1163 B
• Date: 1999
  1999
  
• Material: Cardboard; paper, red; patterned
  Cardboard; paper, red; patterned
  Box
  Box lid
  
• Dimensions: 102 mm H x 600 mm L x 375 mm W
  382 mm H x 570 mm L x 352 mm W
  
• What: Box
  Box lid
  
• Subject: Paper offering
  Paper offering
  
• Who:
• Where: Singapore
  Singapore
  
• Event:
• Description: Cardboard box covered in red patterned paper, contained paper offerings for a man, which would be burnt at the graveside as an offering to ancestors: Singapore, 1999
  Cardboard lid for box covered in red patterned paper, contained paper offerings for a man, which would be burnt at the graveside as an offering to ancestors: Singapore, 1999
  
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