Small Chinese? Silver Pot Trying to Identify

PHOTOS REQUIRED - marks + item
adrock1412
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:27 pm

Small Chinese? Silver Pot Trying to Identify

Postby adrock1412 » Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:45 pm

I have a small pot as seen in the pictures, it is about 3" wide and 2 " tall with a small lid, some of the pictures on the sides apear to be a dragon, a sea creature, some leaves and some fish, im trying to identify the hallmark on the bottom and have come up empty with all reasearch, wondering if anyone on here has any input, any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks
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davidross
contributor
Posts: 460
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:58 am

Re: Small Chinese? Silver Pot Trying to Identify

Postby davidross » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:40 am

This pumpkin-shaped form of small container is often called a betel nut box and usually associated with South East Asia.

The mark on the bottom is only partially struck. To hazard a guess, I do not think this is a Chinese character per se, as it is not found in a character dictionary. Rather, it is a stylized form of a character for "happiness" that has been commonly incorporated into the painted design on Chinese porcelain from the mid-19th century down to the present day, for instance on the neck of a famille rose vase.

I cannot say with any certainty that this symbol here indicates a retailer's or master's mark. Unfortunately, SE Asian silver is an area of collecting that remains largely unexplored, but perhaps in time someone else will provide more information.

Regards
DR


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