Rare Shell & Silver Bamboo Banquet Tazzas with by Wang Hing China Export Silver

Description

Mother of Pearl Shell & Silver Bamboo Banquet Tazza Trio Centerpieces
by Wang Hing, China
Inscription dates them to 1887.
Height: La
rge tazza
10 1/4" wide. 11  3/4" tall.  Smaller tazzas 9 1/4" wide.  4 3/4" tall.
These impressive tazza or sweetmeats stands comprise large mother-of-pearl shells affixed to a thicket of bamboo bamboo canes
and dozens of leaves, all in finely cast and engraved silver, the largest on a wooden stand.
The tazza is affixed to the wooden stand by means of a screw and nut, the top of which is disguised as a central, young bamboo shoot, naturalistically rendered.  The nut on underside is a replacement.
The shells are attached to the silver bamboo canes beneath by silver screws the tops of which have been disguised as silver butterflies in flight, each one being finely engraved. A central three-part flourish of silver bamboo leaves helps to keep the shells in place and to disguise the natural gaps between them.
The bamboo leaves which sprout from the canes are all detachable and sit in small slots cut into the canes in the larger tazza.  The smaller tazzas the leaves are not detachable.
To the larger tazza the bamboo canes rise from a domed silver base that has been chased with other shrubs, rockery motifs and copious fibrous, shallow bamboo roots.
The larger tazza is stamped to the side of the base with 'WH' for the maker Wang Hing, and with an illegible Chinese ideogram.  The matching smaller tazzas are not marked.
These were presentation pieces and the larger tazza is inscribed to the upper rim of the base in German: Schaumann V Restoff Schirmacher Kuhng Behnish Ihvem Kommandanten 17/XII 17.   The date of inscription is December 17, 1897.
Wang Hing was a firm that was active in Canton and Hong Kong in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and first quarter of the twentieth century.
This magnificent trio is very rare!
The weight of the largest tazza is 1 pound 9.6 regular ounces.  Appears to have losses of a few leaves. A bolt to the underside is a probable replacement.
The weight of the smaller tazzas are 1 pound 6 ounces and 1 pound 3.6 ounces.  One is missing the nut to the underside and has I think 4 missing leaves and branches.  The other has I think also 4 missing leaves and branches.
Some minor rough spots to shell edges.
SELLING JUST AS WE FOUND THESE. AS SEEN AS FOUND.  SO VERY RARE AND VERY VERY NICE!
References
:
Chan, D.P.L.,
Chinese Export Silver: The Chan Collection
, published in conjunction with the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.
Forbes, H.A.C.
et al
,
Chinese Export Silver 1785-1885
, Museum of the American China Trade, 1975.
Marlowe, A.J.,
Chinese Export Silver
, John Sparks, 1990.
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