Description:
Chinese export silver teaspoon stamped "W" and with pseudohallmarks imitating English examples, including a profile head facing right, crowned leopard head, and lion passant, and the Chinese character mark "Yu", whihc was made by Wongshing who worked circa 1830-1855. Acquired from an area dealer, it is believed to have a history of ownership in a Northampton, Mass., family; the original engraving has been removed. Little is known about this silversmith and his products; Ralph Chait believes that he may have worked as early as the first decade of the 19th century. His work has been documented by several fitted silk boxes with original labels stamped in red ink, "Wongshing/Gold and Silver Smith/ No. 15 China Street." Wongshing made a documented silver tea service for Dr. Peter Parker, an American medical missionary who resided in China from 1834 to 1857. According to Forbes, et al., this teaspoon is the first known example marked "W" with a Chinese character. Silver, a highly desirable commodity in China, poured into the country in large quantities in exchange for Chinese goods. Cantonese artisans had access to a steady supply of Spanish silver coins, particularly 'ocho reale' pieces or Spanish dollars, minted in Spain, Mexico, or Peru, and stamped with Chinese shroff marks. While silver was never a significant Chinese export in comparison to other items, by the 19th century the low cost of labor in China made the export of cast, applied, or repoussé silver items profitable for traders. Chinese silversmiths excelled at creating copies of popular American and English silver; the fiddle, thread, and shell pattern on this fork proved one of the most popular Chinese silver designs of the mid-19th century. The Chinese reinterpreted the fiddle and thread pattern with two-piece construction soldered with a scarf joint, instead of the Western one-piece forged construction; a scarf joint is made by cutting two corresponding pieces of silver, overlapping them, and securing them by soldering.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+91.030 |
