Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on April 21, 2021 · 1 Comment
The Hong Kong retail silversmith WAI KEE 惠記 [in Mandarin: HUI JI] is one of the few retailers that truly spans three centuries; founded in 1885, the firm is still operating in almost the same location by Pedder Street with the same specialities of pearls, jewellery and what has become known as Chinese export silver […]
The SHING WO [SHENG HE] 和勝 artisan silver workshop in Canton was probably the most masterful in creating detailed miniature items of silver; a much-overlooked area of late Qing and Republic era Chinese silver-making. What the West would probably call a “junk boat” finds its roots back in the Han dynasty; the Qing dynasty equivalent […]
Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on April 27, 2015 · 1 Comment
THE CALIFORNIA GOLD-RUSH EFFECT ON CHINESE SILVER AND HONG KONG 加州淘金热对中国银器和香港的影响 by Adrien von Ferscht 皇甫安 Translated by Chao Huang 黄超 深入研究发现，中国外销银是目前看来最复杂和最多样的银类品种，无法任取一件这种银器物而知其然，因其内涵传递的信息远比其外观要多。拾一件外销银如同握一颗手榴弹，其中满裹着各种历史、文化和艺术价值，随时准备引爆而揭开一个个秘密。 然而中国外销银长期以来背负着错误的命名，也许长达50年，或许更长时期。即使随着其需求与影响的扩大，银制品也一直并非物如其名，也从没有人给予它一个接近真相的适合头衔。我们有且仅有从史料记载的时间上判断，在18世纪末至1840年这60多年的时间里，一大批重要的新古典银相继出现，先是为了“出口市场”而生产，后则是供“国内消费”而制作。而这些银制品的制造者/主人，多以旅居中国的西方居民或新兴中国的中产阶级为主。 关于银制品制造者，笔者经过最近大量的勘校性研究后发现，一些被西方认为是“制造者”身份的人，实际上并不是制造者，而是零售银匠或零售商，并且银制品也仅仅只是其售卖的其中一种特殊商品。这众多鉴定银器标识背后的人物，在这时空中，经常能够带人进入一个无法预料的旅程，笔者本文想要介绍的，便是其中这样一个银器标识—-香港的“Chong Woo（长和）”。 “长和”标识最早可追溯到英国殖民统治早期（具体而言是1849年起），此标识虽无特别明确的样式，又往往与优质产品无关，但有其标识的银器却多为稀缺品，并且它的存在清楚地表明了曾有人懂得银器的工艺以及样式质量监控。 实际上，“长和”之名完全是虚构的名称，该标识背后的真实人物是招雨田（Chiu Yu Tin，常称招成林），14岁移民香港，是香港岛最早的移民者之一。他出生在距广州不远的南海县的一个贫苦家庭。碰巧的是，许多重要的广州零售银匠也来自佛山南海县，也就是说，招雨田很可能与银匠世家有着某些密切联系。 […]
Category Uncategorized · Tags #Chaohuang, #ChineseExportSilver, Adrien von Ferscht, Chao Huang, chinese export silver, Chinese Export Silver Makers' Marks, Chinese Silver Research Institute, Chiu Yu tin, Gold Rush, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Scottish Centre for China Research, University of Glasgow
THE CALIFORNIA GOLD-RUSH EFFECT ON CHINESE SILVER AND HONG KONG 加州淘金热对中国银器和香港的影响 […]
Category meta museum · Tags #ChineseExportSilver, Adrien von Ferscht, California Gold Rush, chinese export silver, Chiu Yu tin, Chong Woo, CSRI, Gold Rush, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Scottish Centre for China Research, The China Trade, The Chinese Silver Research Institute, Tsinghua University, University of Glasgow
THE INFLUENCE OF THE TRIADS ON THE DECORATIVE ARTS IN CHINA 三合會對中國和香港的裝飾藝術之影響 Style, the demand for style and the supply of style is an extremely fine-tuned, complex equation that only requires a small weakness in one element and the equation is compromised. Style icons are also an essential factor in creating a momentum for style […]
Category meta museum · Tags #ChineseExportSilver, Adrien von Ferscht, Anna May Wong, Asia Scotland Institute, Canton, Chiang Kai-shek, China, chinese export silver, Dreweatts, Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, Du Yuesheng, Hong Kong, Luen Hing, Madame Chang Kai-Chek, Madame Chiang, Scottish Centre for China Research, Shanghai, Shanghai Express, Soong Sisters, Sun Yat-sen, Triad, Triads, University of Glasgow, Wang Hing
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER AND THE ENLIGHTENED RENAISSANCE 中國出口銀器: 被啟蒙的文藝復興 Chinese Export Silver always adapted to the realities of Chinese history; it was, after all, a product of that history,as such, it has qualities that no other silver category possesses. Viewed in the overall context of China, it is an excellent indicator of prevailing historical […]
Category meta museum · Tags #ChineseExportSilver, Adrien von Ferscht, Asia Scotland Institute, Beijing, Canton, Canton System, chinese export silver, Chinese Renaissance, chinese silver marks, Cixi, CUTSHING, Dowager Empress Cixi, Dreweatts, Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, Forbidden City, Hong Kong, Make China Strong, Scottish Centre for China Research, Shanghai, The China Trade, University of Glasgow, Wang Hing
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER: The Huge Influence of the Early 20th Century Chinese Department Stores 中國出口銀器: 二十世紀初中國百貨公司業的巨大影響 Department stores were first introduced to China in the late 19th century but they came in the guise of foreign chains or investors who were doing nothing more than trying to establish lucrative colonial implants that had previously appeared on […]
Category meta museum · Tags #ChineseExportSilver, Adrien von Ferscht, China, chinese export silver, Chinese Export Silver Makers' Marks, Dreweatts, Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, Hong Kong, jiguan, Meta Museum, Scottish Centre for China Research, Shanghai, Sincere, The Sincere Company, University of Glasgow, Wang Hing, Wing On
Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on February 28, 2014 · 1 Comment
Since the discovery of Wang Hing & Company by Crosby Forbes in the 1960’s, the name has become synonymous with Chinese Export Silver, yet virtually nothing was known about the company. This is a historic moment: for the first time in the research of this unique silver category, the true name of the family behind […]
Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on October 18, 2013 · 1 Comment
To many of us, we might be aware of the connotations that salt has with monarchy – a substance of high value and denoting high status. We might also be aware of the connections of salt with the Romans – the very word “salary” being a derivative that traces its roots to […]
Category meta museum · Tags Adrien von Ferscht, China, chinese export silver, Chinese Export Silver Makers' Marks, Hong Kong, Kublai Khan, London, Marco Polo, Meta Museum, Scottish Centre for China Research, University of Glasgow
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER: Lustrous Beacons of Excellence 中國出口銀器: 明亮的卓越之燈塔 Chinese Export Silver is without doubt the most mysterious silver category the world ever saw. Only now, over 70 years after it faded into obscurity, are we beginning to understand some of the many enigmas; it’s the stuff of movies! As a silver category, […]
Category meta museum · Tags Adrien von Ferscht, China, chinese export silver, Christopher Hunter, English Georgian, Gan Sheng, Hong Kong, London, Meta Museum, Osterley Park House, Robert Adam, Sheng Yuan, Sing Fat
