Melon Teapot Saga    The year was 1941. It was World War II in Malaya.  The bombs were falling all around in a small village south of Kuala Lumpur. As the British retreated southwards along the peninsular, they showered bombs to destroy supplies which the advancing Japanese army might find useful.  But the deadly bombs and shrapnel were not enough to deter the hungry villagers. In a well-stocked warehouse, desperate people scrambled to grab bags of rice to feed their families.
	Like everyone else, Ah Ham ran in to get food.  Unlike everyone else, he came out with a piece of history.  Amidst the mayhem, Ah Ham the villager saw a beautifully crafted teapot. The pot, shaped like a melon, mesmerized him. As he bent down to pick up this captivating teapot, he heard a piece of shrapnel whizz just above his head. Did the Melon Teapot save his life?
	Ah Ham survived the war. The teapot was his constant companion thereafter. Not only did he enjoy his daily tea from the teapot, he delighted in entertaining his guests time and time again with his wartime story and his miraculous brush with death. One such guest who heard his amazing story, perhaps more than a dozen times, recognized the distinctive pewterer's mark on its bottom. Instinctively, he took the pot to Royal Selangor, then known as Selangor Pewter. That was in 1972, more than 30 years later.
	The Hallmark proved that Ah Ham's Melon Teapot was an original creation by Yong Koon, the founder of Royal Selangor. To this day, it is the only such teapot from the 1890s to have survived in such impeccable condition.
	More than a hundred years later, Ah Ham may be gone (since 1995), but his precious Melon Teapot now has a place of honor in Royal Selangor's museum collection, treasured by the descendants of Yong Koon.
	Today, Royal Selangor has reproduced Yong Koon's masterpiece in a brilliant finish as well as a version in a fine, burnished antique finish, with a matching sugar bowl and milk jug, complemented by a scallop-edged pewter tray with intricate melon skin motif on it.    Like its predecessor, the new Melon Teaset is composed of 12 individually hand crafted segments of a melon, skillfully soldered together and polished to a glimmering sheen. A stem of the melon serves as the knob for the lid of the teapot, while the organic texture of the melon's skin serves as the inspiration for the tray.
	Thus, the saga continues with this magnificent set, the Melon Teaset. From its humble beginnings, the teapot has been resurrected to inspire the talented and skillful designers of Royal Selangor to emulate the dedication, commitment and vision of its founder. A wonderful testimony to the foresight and evolutionary spirit that is Royal Selangor.     Would you like to go to the Online Shop to see how to add this to your personal collection?