A rare Dutch Colonial silver spittoon, Indonesia, Batavia, circa 18th century, on a short foot, the rounded body fluted, rising in trumpet form to a lobed rim, the waist with applied silver band with rounded edges, 14cm. highProvenance: Acquired by the vendor from a Dutch collection in Amsterdam Batavian silver was made for administrators working for the Dutch East Indies Company as well as for other Europeans living in the Dutch settlement of Batavia. The work was done by a Dutch master silversmith with the assistance of Indian, Sinhalese and local craftsmen. Objects were designed in Dutch style with the oriental influence coming from the highly skilled Asian craftsmen who worked under the Dutch master silversmith.Spittoons such as these, were part of the paraphernalia associated with the betel nut chewing habit, popular all over Asia. A person would place a betel nut leaf containing areca nut and lime paste in his mouth and softly chew on it. Occasionally, the betel residue would be spat into a spittoon, allowing the person to continue chewing.Eliens, T.M., Silver from Batavia/Zilver uit Batavia, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag/W Books, 2012Please refer to department for condition report