1 Pint Wolf Tankard British Museum Collection

A project with the British Museum, this collaboration draws on the public institution’s vast collection of over 8 million artefacts, documenting the story of human culture from its earliest days to the present. Each piece is marked with the British Museum logotype

Founded in 1885 by Yong Koon in his little shop called Ngeok Foh (Jade Peace), Yong Koon handcrafted pewter objects mainly for ceremonial use, such as joss stick holders, incense burners and candle holders for altars of Chinese homes and temples.The pewter objects sold by Yong Koon were polished with "stone leaf" (Tetracera scandens), a wild tropical leaf of a fine, abrasive nature. With the arrival of British colonials, the offering expanded to include tankards, ashtrays and tea services. The brand was then known as Selangor Pewter. In the 1970s, the company started exporting, first to Singapore and Hong Kong and then to Australia. Towards the 1980s, the market expanded into Europe and later into Japan. In 1992, the company changed its name to Royal Selangor to reflect its endorsement from Sultan Salahuddin, the Sultan of Selangor, dropping 'pewter' from its company name as its product range had expanded to include items from other materials..

The zoomorphic handle, in the form of a wolf or hound standing guard over her cubs, replicates that of the original artefact, a pair of early Celtic bronze flagons unearthed in France. The flagons, which date from around 420 BCE – 360 BCE France, exhibit a mixture of styles and influences, from Greek and Etruscan to Celtic, offering a tantalising glimpse into the cosmopolitan nature of Iron Age trade and interaction.