Page 345 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

This tea kettle is densely worked
with repoussé figural scenes, This
is also a technique found on some
pieces of Tu Mao Xing, but unlike
the latter this kettle has a blue
enamelled ground.

The finial on the lid takes the form
of a peony bud.

Applied reticulated scrollwork
decorates the ivory handle.

The inverted dragon-head
decorative treatment of the spout
is also redolent of Tu Mao Xing.

What is puzzling and is still a
matter of research is the close
resemblance of this Hui Xing
kettle to a kettle carrying the Da
Xing mark of the same period. Da
Xing is recorded as operating in
both Singapore and Canton, but
perhaps it is simply the form of
the ivory handle that makes the
two more similar than they
appear.

Images courtesy of Ralph M Chait
Galleries, New York; WorthPoint

http://chinese-export-silver.com
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