ANTIQUE 19thC CHINESE SOLID SILVER FLORAL TEA CADDY, WOSHING, SHANGHAI c.1880

DESCRIPTION

Antique 19th Century Chinese solid silver tea caddy, shaped as a Chinese ginger jar, well crafted and profusely embossed with water lilies and depicting ducks in high relief on matted ground, large vacant shield-shaped cartouche, top fitted with a plain pull-off lid. Hallmarked Chinese silver, Retailer mark Woshing was an important manufacturing and retailing silversmith in Shanghai and Canton. Common mistakes in the transliteration of Chinese silver marks in English caused several names for Woshing, such as Wo Shing, Woo Shing and Wah Shing.

Woshing silver is excellently crafted and was made in most of the patterns popular in the export market, such as bamboo, dragons, cranes, floral motifs. Apart from high-quality silverware, the firm was also famous for retailing luxury items in carved ivory, jade, gold and specialised in trophies and celebration silver.

Alongside with traditionally decorated silver tableware and flatware, of particular interest were pieces with creative and unconventional decors and forms. Bowls, tazzas, boxes in the modified Neo-classical manner were intricately crafted with realistically modelled birds, frogs and other animals in high relief. Such Woshing works are considered to be one of the most unusual among the Chinese export silver.

Although the full list of artisans working for the firm is impossible to make, it is well known that numerous Woshing silver pieces with outstanding enamels were created in cooperation with the respected silversmith Huang Qiu Ji.

According to the scholar Adrien Von Ferscht, the firm was on top four of the most notable Chinese retail silversmiths in the 19th century alongside Wong Hing, Poh Hing and Chong Woo. . For more information and examples of his work please see A. Von Ferscht, Chinese Export Silver 1785-1940, 4th edition 2015, page 328).

CONDITION

In Great Condition - No Damage.

SIZE

Height: 13cm
Width: 9cm
Weight: 235g