Silver Chatelaine Grooming Sets

These two fine silver chatelaine grooming sets below are either from Southern China or the ethnic Chinese minority of Straits Settlements.

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Above grooming set comprises a chain which allows the set to be suspended from a belt. The panel at the top is in a shape of lion dog with two dangles or bells in the shape of peach fruits. The lower part, with open-work panel in the shape of a deer motifs on each side, suspended with three grooming tools on separate chains. Length: 23cm.

Below is rather a magnificent antique silver flower basket adorned tool kit. Overall, this is an unusual and decorative set. Length: 32cm.

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Do check out the post about the "Silver Enamel Chatelaine Grooming Set".

Cheki Card Game

Many Chinese love to play "Mahjong", the Babas created a favourite card game of their own called Cheki. If the Babas say they go "ber-Cheki", then you know, they are playing something similar to "Gin Rummy".

This 60-card pattern is traditionally used by Indonesian and Malaysian players of Chinese descent. About one century ago, the gambling game of Cheki (also spelled as Ceki or Tjeki), also known as Kowah, was particularly popular among the Babas and Nyonyas ethnic groups living in Malacca, but it is still played today by the descendants of such immigrants.

This pattern has very strong analogies with the classic Chinese Dong Guan cards. There are values from 1 to 9 of the suits of 'Coins', 'Strings' and 'Myriads', plus the 'Old Thousand', 'Red Flower' and 'White Flower' cards, and their illustrations are very similar too. Therefore, Cheki cards are a further variety of money-suited cards.

In Cheki decks, each subject is duplicated twice, and there is no 'Gui' (or "devil") card; therefore, the pack contains only 60 cards. But since the game requires two decks (120 cards in total) for being played, a clear analogy with the aforesaid Chinese pattern can be told. Furthermore, the game of Cheki is not very different from Mahjong, whose cards belong to the money-suited group, as well.

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