Page 239 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

DA FU [TAI FOOK]
Hué, Thừa Thiên–Huế Province, Vietnam [French Indochina]
circa 1890-1930

A rare version of the Da Fu mark, contained within a circle rather than the
usual rectangle [right]

Da Fu was a Chinese silversmith operating in Vietnam and is often mistakenly catalogued as being Chinese
Export Silver. Vietnam, at the time, was considered a vassal state of China

T90 is a silver purity mark used in Vietnam based on the Anglo-Indian “Tola” system of weight used also in
Cambodia, Singapore, Zanzibar and Aden - 1 Tola = 11.4gmBoxes of all shapes and sizes appear to have been
the mainstay of this workshop’s output - but always in a provincial Chinese style.

Da Fu silver items are very
distinctive in style. They almost
always contain decorative motifs
that are contained within frames of
tradition borders and almost always
there is the contrast of finely
planished ground with repoussé
work and adjacent areas of plain
polished silver. The framed scenes,
whether figural or stylistic, become
as self-contained vignettes. The
combination of all the vignettes on a
piece form a complete narrative and
because of this, each Da Fu piece
appears to be visually synchronised
and balanced.