The motifs on this silver plate are Chinese. Engraved at the centre are feng huang, Chinese phoenixes, surrounded by blossoming peonies. Using repoussé technique, the rim is decorated with the flowers of the four seasons: plum blossoms (winter), peonies (spring), lotuses (summer), and chrysanthemums (autumn). On the ground there are deer, lions, and monkeys. The sky is filled with birds and butterflies. These decorations indicate that this silver plate was undoubtedly made by a Chinese silversmith. The back of this plate, however, is stamped with several marks revealing its true identity as VOC silver. The oval-shaped mark consists of the coat of arms of Batavia, a sword surrounded by a laurel. During the VOC period, three consecutive variants were used (Eliëns 2012: 49-50). The mark was applied by the assay master after the silver was tested and guaranteed to contain enough pure silver. Before 1730 the silver was tested by scraping off a row of tiny pieces of silver. After 1730 a new method of using touch needles was applied, that did less damage to the silver. Only silver with the maker’s mark was tested by the assay master. The maker’s mark on this plate are of a still unidentified Dutch silversmith with the initials ‘NS’. Because of the motifs, this plate was probably commissioned by this NS to one or maybe even more Chinese silversmiths. Besides Chinese, also Indonesian – mainly Balinese – and Indian silversmiths worked for the VOC (Veenendaal 2014: 102). The third mark is the letter ‘i’. Some argue that this was a year letter, as was customary in Holland (Veenendaal 2014: 101). Following this theory, based on an incomplete list of year letters used during the VOC period, this plate could be dated 1713 (Veenendaal 2014: 229). But there is some doubt since between 1730 and 1785 this third mark is absent. Therefore another interpretation is that the letter relates to the assay master’s period in office. After 1730 there was more than one assay master to meet the demand. This coincides with the year when the touch needles were introduced to test the silver (Eliëns 2012: 48, 50). In the collection of the KITLV (images 7568-7572 and 7574) are six photographs taken around 1930 of silver plates with a very similar design. These plates belonged to the Hervormde Kerk in Depok, now called GPIB Immanuel Depok (Protestant Church Immanuel). The present whereabouts of these plates is unknown (see also Kwisthout 2007: 116-132). In the course of time much VOC silverware was melted down. Fortunately this rare plate escaped the melting pot. It is the first piece of VOC silver in the collection of the National Museum of World Cultures.