Antique Chinese Qing Dynasty Export Silver Gilt Dragon Snuff Box Wang Hing 1900

A good antique Chinese Qing dynasty silver dragon snuff box by Luen Hing (Shanghai) and retailed by Wang Hing & Co, Canton, circa 1900, the box most likely made for the Japanese market.

This very elegant silver box having a hinged lid which is finely decorated with a repousse work dragon, the dragon seems to have three toes hence this was possibly made for the Japanese market. The lid opens and closes with ease and has a gilt interior, the sides of the box having repousse decoration of bamboo leaves.
The base is marked with the Chinese character mark for the silver artisan, Luen Hing and then also "WH" for the famous silver retailer Wang Hing, condition is excellent.
Silver weight 98 grams

Probably the greatest and finest Chinese Export retailer, Wang Hing started trading in Canton soon after 1842 when, with the end of the First Opium War and the treaty of Nanking, China opened its ports to foreign merchants and Hong Kong became a British colony.
Wang Hing was the trading name chosen by the Lo family who established the business and passed it down for generations until 1941. Although we don’t have any information about the founder of the company, we know that the Lo family was a wealthy merchant family living in one of the richest and buzzing areas of Canton, the district of Xiguan.
Thanks to the fine quality of the pieces and to the entrepreneurial abilities of the family members, the reputation of the firm grew and in 1920’s Lo Hung Tong, grandson of the founder, opened a shop at 10 Queen’s Road, Hong Kong and in Shanghai. Wang Hing artworks became very popular among Western clients, who often commissioned trophies and presentation pieces decorated with the traditional Chinese motifs such as dragons, bamboo leaves and prunus blossoms.
In 1941 with the Japanese invasion, the Lo family was forced to flee to mainland China and the business ceased trading.

Imperial

ches high × ches wide × ches deep

Metric

2.5 cm high × 8.25 cm wide x 4.4 cm deep

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