Set of Chinese Export Silver Overlay Bottle with Five Cordials Tianjin Wuhua

Description

A set of Chinese Export silver drinking set consists of a pinch bottle and five cordials circa 1910s-1920s. Featuring matching elaborate chased relief dragon and cloud motif on surface, this is an rare set of this form by the "TianJin WuHua Hou" silver shop, one of the most well established workshop and silver shop in Tianjin, with a branch in Peking as well. Wuhua Silver was founded by Yan Xinhou (1838-1907) in 1881 during the late Qing dynasty. Despite the significant social instability caused by the falling of the Qing dynasty and the foreign invasions, the business thrived well into the Republic period and only closed in 1937 before the Sino-Japanese war. As the most reputable silver workshop and retailer, Wuhua purveyed to both domestic and foreign buyers. It is well known not just for its designs and service, but also its high quality and content sterling silver that was known as "Wen Silver" (veined silver), with a content often higher than the sterling, thus displaying a veining pattern on the silver surface. This set was most likely made for the export market and was beautifully crafted with chased relief of dragon slithering in the clouds with a fire ball, a most popular and auspicious motif. The pieces were all marked with "TianJin Wuhua Hou" and "Wen Silver". Hou is the last character of the, the founder. The bottle and cordial cups respectively carry an additional character "Wen" and "Ching", indicator of the silversmith who made the piece respectively. The liquor bottle measures 9 1/2" x 5" and approximately weights 29.56 ozt. Five cordials each measures 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" and weight approximately 5.69 ozt. The work by this silversmith are not very commonly found on the market, especially as a large set such as this. A pair of small peach-form boxes with covers by the workshop was recently sold in Christie's HK for 21,250HKD. Lot 8121 6 in Pavilion Online: Chinese Art Jun - 13 Jun 2019 sale 16727.