Page 48 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

Hong Kong’s success created a general upsurge in wealth in the colony. This coincided
with the growth of the middle classes in Europe and America and, somewhat perversely,
increase in awareness overseas of what was happening in China in terms of foreign
military presence. This spawned a Victorian renaissance of the Chinese style and all things
“chinoiserie”. Retail silversmiths such as Wang Hing & Company literally did a roaring
trade in creating trophies for the many clubs and institutions that were being founded in
Hong Kong, in fact the island was becoming the epitome of a colonial city., mirroring those
in the Raj, but based on more substantial mercantile wealth. These trophy and
commemorative items themselves tell a story of an era of Hong Kong’s history that have
long gone, as have many of the institutions that commissioned them.

By the dawn of the 20th century Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and the later Art Deco styles
were incorporated into items, in particular pieces manufactured in Shanghai and Hong
Kong. Here the burgeoning international communities had become almost indigenous,
while an equally substantial affluent Chinese middle class had adopted Western lifestyles.

In the early 20th century the various foreign nations trading from China from their various
international enclaves were each governed according to their respective national laws.
Living in unprecedented luxury that they could only have been dreamt of in their home
countries, the merchants and entrepreneurs had the sole focus of making as much money
as they could as quickly as possible, living in that surreal world of mansions, servants and
endless parties and entertaining.

Shanghai entered a new phase of its history which transformed it to the London, New York
and Buenos Airies of the East with the added licentiousness of Berlin and Paris. Many

Chinese merchants became wealthy or wealthier, many choosing to live in the international
sectors and to adopt totally Western lifestyles, including the decadence that had almost
become an unofficial trademark of the city. This new “Chinese Jazz Age” was very much
reflected in the Chinese Export Silver that flowed out of Shanghai. A westernised version