Page 419 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

KWAN WO [aka: KUN HE]!
Canton & Hong Kong!
circa 1875-1940!
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There is a school of thought that Kwong Wa is the name related to the maker’s mark denoted by the initials
“KW”. This is a wrong assumption and one so often made by auction houses and specialist dealers. The KW
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mark is the mark of Kwan Wo - no connection whatsoever to Kwong Wa!
The Kwan Wo mark is a mark that has one of the most derivations - no uniformity of Latin fonts etc; they all
carry the Latin initials “KW”, however.!

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Kwan Wo, a retail silversmith with one foot on the mainland and the
other in Hong Kong, not only had virtually no conformity with
regards to silver marks but it also had a bewildering array of silver
items that point to the fact that there was virtually nothing Kwan Wo
would consider making in silver. There’s also no definitive Kwan Wo
style or even a noticeable organic style that developed over the
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years.!
The tankard [left] shows a good quality and an attention to detailing -
it is good quality silver with no particular fireworks to quicken the
pulse.!
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