Page 298 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

H.T. [SILVERSMITH’S FULL NAME UNDOCUMENTED]
Han Bac Street, Thang Long [Hanoi], Viet Nam
circa 1880-1920

This is a mark that has occasionally appeared on items at auction. My research thus far indicates this is almost
certainly a silversmith based in Singapore. Silver filigree work was a speciality but in a style that differs from the
style of filigree work practiced on mainland China. It is included in this catalogue because it is almost always
identified as being Chinese Export Silver by auction houses and dealers.

Hué was the Imperial capital of the Nguyẽn Dynasty but many Chinese silversmiths and goldsmiths worked in
Han Bac Street in Hanoi and specialised in filigree. It was also the bullion quarter of what is now Hanoi.

A circa 1895-1900 silver filigree casket carrying the H.T. silver mark. In my opinion the silversmith is almost
undoubtedly Chinese, but the style is sufficiently different to mainland China-based silversmiths even though
the casket incorporates several traditional Chinese decorative motifs.

The circa 1880 gold box [following illustration] is typical Nguyẽn Dynasty craftsmanship from Hanoi and
obviously, stylistically, created by a Chinese artisan.