Page 935 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

The reality of a brandy warmer in Hong Kong at the end of the 19th century is that it would have been a much-
used item given the number of gentlemen’s clubs that were in the city at that time. One can safely assume this
particular piece was made for one of the foreign merchant factories in Canton where drinking and eating was
taken as seriously as the matter of trading.

As an object, the Yi Tong piece might seem quite insignificant, but taken in the context that the greatest of all
English silversmiths, Paul Storr, created similar pieces might force us to view it in a totally different light.

This example of a brandy warmer by Paul Storr [above] carries a hallmark that dates it to 1793 and is almost
identical to the Yi Tong piece and transforms it from its previous insignificance into an item of social history of
the time and place.

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