Page 338 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

This is an unusual piece. A circa 1890-1895
reticulated bowl that bears the retail silversmith’s
mark of Chong Woo and the Huang Qiu Ji mark, yet
there is no indication this bowl ever had enamel
applied to it. This, therefore, begs the question
whether Huang Qiu Ji was also manufacturing
silver-only objects. If this is correct, it indicates that
Huang Qiu Ji was also prized as a silversmith as
well as an enamel artist.

It is also interesting to note that Hong Kong retail silversmiths were
willing to commission work from a Shanghai-based workshop, bearing
in mind the logistics of ordering and delivery.

Baluster vases is one area in which Huang Qiu Ji shone. These vases
were almost always originally made as pairs and have a mixed floral
and foliate decorative motif using the champlevé technique.

Unfortunately, the vase [right] has been separated from its partner at
some stage of its life. 25cm in height and dating to circa 1900, the
decoration is of an egret amidst water foliage and is a popular
combination in Chinese culture. A white egret [or heron] as we have
depicted on the vase and the lotus remain white in swamps. This is an
allusion to the Confucian principle of an incorruptible official. The
Chinese word ‘lù’ means lotus but is also a homophone for “an
official’s salary. The Chinese word for egret is guān and is also a
homophone for ‘official”.
The combined motif of egret and lotus was often used in belt buckles
by Chinese gentry or members of the literati. However, the decorative
combination can also convey the wish for “abundance of surplus of
gold [money] in your purse”.