Page 243 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

DA GUANG!
Hué, Thừa Thiên–Huế Province, Vietnam [French Indochina]!
circa 1885-1925!
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Da Guang was a Chinese silversmith operating in Hué, Viet Nam. This was not the sole Chinese silversmith
working in the same location, Da Fu being another and, like Da Guang, specialised mainly in creating silver
boxes and small items. Because of the Chinese character silver mark, Da Guang is often mistakenly described
as being Chinese Export Silver.!

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Da Guang boxes are almost always a fusion of
traditional Chinese decorative motifs and Western forms
and styles. The use of high relief layered work against a
finely planished ground is very much a characteristic of
this silversmith and the work is always of a high
standard. Da Guang silver items ware always made from
particularly heavy gauge silver. The box [above] can be
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dated to circa 1895-1900.!
The hexagonal box [left] has an almost identical
decorative motif on its lid. The single shadow gap
border is a decorative feature Da Guang used
frequently; Indo-Chinese [Vietnamese] silver marks
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invariably were bordered in the same manner.!
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