Page 319 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

This circa 1875 tea and coffee set carrying the Hoaching silver marks is probably the epitome of that peculiarly
Chinese latter half of the 19th century phenomenon - the fusion of the high Victorian style with the high Chinese
style.

The set encapsulates everything one would expect from Chinese silver - the elongated lobed gourd form, the
plethora of traditional Chinese allegorical decorative motifs, yet it does so in an unmistakably Victorian way.

Hoaching was a master of this phenomenon, which indicates a highly imaginative and fertile mind. After all, the
Victorian style was something completely alien to the Chinese and to able to be sufficiently sensitive to it to be
able to create what appears as a happy ‘marriage’ of styles is no mean feat. On the contrary, English and
American silversmiths tried the reverse - introducing Chinese style to their own silver pieces. Compared to the
Chinese silversmiths’ endeavours, their attempts resulted in what was a pastiche of the Chinese style.