Page 902 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht
P. 902
Y.C.COMPANY - [Full name undocumented - connected in some way to YUNG LEI]
Tientsin
circa 1900-1940
Many people believe this mark is connected to Yu Chang; to some extent this is probably correct.
I have been carrying out extensive research into this mark and it appears there’s a link between it and the retail
silversmith Yung Lei [aka:YL] of Shanghai. The marks are similar in style, the silver wares are similar in style
and a number of the artisan marks are shared between the two marks. Research continues, but Y.C.Company is
best thought of as a retail silversmith.
The pair of circa 1900 reticulated dishes [above] are well
executed; reticulated silver seems to be a particular
speciality connected to this mark. The reticulation in these
pieces is noticeably more open than one would normally
expect, which actually is more difficult to achieve well.
These dishes have their original clear glass liners. What is
interesting is the fretwork pattern of the bases of these
dishes [right]; this is highly unusual for Chinese silver.