Page 409 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

KUN HE!
Shanghai!
circa 1880-1925!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!

Kun He was a highly skilled artisan silversmith whose mark also appears alongside Tuck Chang, Hung Chong
and occasionally Khe Cheong. However, the alternative dialect transliteration of Kun He is Kwan Wo. This
obviously begs the question whether this workshop had any connection with the retail silversmith Kwan Wo.
While the styles could be construed as being similar, Kun He was located in Shanghai and Kwan Wo in Canton
and Hong Kong. I cannot recall having recorded a Kun He artisan mark alongside the Kwan Wo mark, so until
!
my research proves otherwise, one should assume there is no connection.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

This late 19th century
tazza in the high Victorian
style was made bu Kun
He for Tuck Chang & Co.,
which would confirm the
constancy of the quality
of work this silversmith
maintained otherwise
Tuck Chang would never
!
have patronised him.!
As with many Chinese
silversmiths, Kun He [and
Tuck Chang] revelled in
the theatricality that the
f u s i o n o f t h e h i g h
Victorian style and the
high Chinese style of the
l a t e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y
!
delivered.!
!
!
!
!