Page 641 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht
P. 641
The most extraordinary item to have ever come from this retail silversmith is probably this “samovar” [below]
with attendant accessories - or is it? Extraordinary it is but it should be taken in the context of the PEKING
SILVER TEMPLE being situated in the international legation compound.
The samovar is unusual as a Chinese Export Silver item but this particular piece we know was bespoke-made
for two Danes who were in Beijing from the end of the 19th century until 1932 - Sophus Black and Minna Dich.
Sophus Black spent 29 years of his life in China and was an avid collector of Chinese art and artefacts. They
chose to live in a Chinese house and adopted a Chinese way of life.
The accompanying tray and
octagonal bowl demonstrate
how much care Black and
Dich worked with Sheng
Yuan in order to have the
optimum mix of Chinese
allegorical and traditional
decorative motifs
incorporated.
