Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on November 5, 2013 · Leave a Comment
It is equally perplexing to find the origins of the object we know as a “tazza” as to understand why Chinese silversmiths during the Chinese Export Silver period [1785-1940] both excelled at and took such obvious delight in making. The word itself means a cup of a vessel and is derived from the Persian […]
Category meta museum · Tags Adrien von Ferscht, China, chinese export silver, Christopher Hunter, Egyptian Ptolemaic Court, Emperor Vespasian, Genghis Khan, London, Meta Museum, Morgan Aldobrandini, Scottish Centre for China Research, Silver Tazza, Sung Dynasty, Tarmashirin Khan, Tazza, Tazza Farnese, University of Glasgow, Wang Hing
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
Posted by Adrien von Ferscht on September 30, 2013 · Leave a Comment
There are not many things the West and China had in common in the 18th and 19th centuries, but certainly one thing both cultures shared was a penchant for drinking alcohol. Alcohol and silver have always made a good marriage; silver has been used to elevate the consumption of alcohol to a higher plain of […]
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER FOR THE ISLAMIC WORLD 伊斯蘭世界的中國出口銀器. It was back in 2012 that I first wrote an article about Chinese Export Silver that was clearly made for the Islamic world. A further year of research has brought to light much more information; what was already an interesting niche in an even more interesting silver […]
Category meta museum · Tags Adrien von Ferscht, chinese export silver, Chinese Export Silver Makers' Marks, Chinese Jews, Christopher Hunter, Hong Kong, Islamic Silver, London, Meta Museum, Rosewater Sprinklers, Silver Filigree, Singapore, St Petersburg
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER: FIRMLY FOOTED IN CHINESE MYTHOLOGY 中國出口銀器: 牢牢紮根於中國神話 All cultures have their own mythological hoofed beasts. The Etruscans had their minotaur, European mythology has its unicorn, in Hebrew mythology there is the re’em and in Egyptian lore there is the cerberus. In China there is the Qílín [pronounced Chhi-lin]. Antique silver and furniture have […]
CHINESE EXPORT SILVER FLORAL TOURS DE FORCE 中國出口銀器上的花卉杰作 I have decided I must be a very privileged person. Not only am I constantly viewing outstanding items of silver as my academic research progresses at a pace, but I get to see so many spectacular examples of Chinese Export Silver that people from all around the […]
Category meta museum · Tags chinese export silver, Chinese Export Silversmiths, Christopher Hunter, Cum Shing, Hong Kong, London, Sai Street, Singapore, St James, Wang Hing, Zetland House
THE CONSUMMATE GEORGIAN SILVERSMITH OF CANTON 一位技術高超的喬治時期廣東銀匠 I write prodigiously about Chinese Export Silver and, if I lived in an ideal world, I would like to think that gradually I am raising the awareness of this highly significant silver category to the height it rightly deserves. Chinese Export Silver ranks amongst some of the […]
THE TALE OF A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER HIDDEN GEM 中國出口銀隱藏寶石的那些事兒 Being a […]
18th and 19th century trade with, to and in China was convoluted, to say the least. China was a stage where two highly different cultures met. Mostly they clashed, sometimes disastrously, but despite this chaotic melange, some found a common ground – even a fertile ground where equally convoluted trade was carried out; trade that […]
