BRIGITTE BORELL
Glass from China and from India: Finds of Vessel Glass from Fourteenth Century Singapore
Introduction
According to Malay tradition, Singapore (Temasek) played an important role as the Malay capital prior to about 1400, when Melaka was founded and took over as the new seat of the Malay ruler. In the Sejarah Melayu, the dynasty of the five kings of Singapore is portrayed as the direct and genealogically connected forerunner to the dynasty of Melaka. As regards the genealogy and the events in the last phase of Singapore, the version related in the Portuguese records of the sixteenth century differs in some significant aspects; nevertheless, Singapore is likewise represented as a flourishing port and centre of power before the foundation of Melaka, its decline being directly connected with the rise of Melaka.
Archipel 80, Paris, 2010, pp. 139-196
* The author’s sincere thanks are due to John N. Miksic (Singapore) for his permission to study the glass finds and his assistance over many years to carry out this study. For chemical analyses of the glass and the iron wire the author thanks Heinz-Jürgen Bernhardt (Bochum), Laure Dussubieux (Chicago), Radegund Hoffbauer (Bonn), and Beate Spiering (Bonn). The fruitful discussions about manufacturing techniques with Anna-Barbara Follmann-Schulz (Bonn), Rosemarie Lierke (Bad Schwalbach), and Marianne Stern (Hilversum) are gratefully acknowledged. For assistance in obtaining photographs, permission to use technical facilities and help in other matters the author is indebted to Gerd Albrecht (Tübingen), Robert Avila (Ladenburg), Karsten Brabänder (Bochum), Robert H. Brill (Corning, New York), Margarita R. Cembrano (Butuan), Andrew Cowan (Seattle, previously in Singapore), Eusebio Dizon (Manila), Edmund Edwards McKinnon (Bogor), Susanne Greiff (Mainz), Sonngard Hartmann (Mainz), Cecilia Y. Locsin (Manila), Pierre-Yves Manguin (Paris), Daniel Perret (Jakarta), Thomas Reddy, S. J. (Rome), Andreas Reinecke (Bonn), Antje Seidel (Munich), Rita C. Tan (Manila), Shana L. Wilson (Corning).
