Dragon Teapot - Any info?

[Ree Ray]

Any and all information would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

[pygoldfish]

made in china

[JBA]

The marks are for the maker Wang Hing, who was working in Hong Kong around 1900. Has it been in your possession for long?

[oel]

Hi,

Are we sure about Wang Hing? The letters look different. Herewith some mark of Wang Hing to compare;




I am also not positive the teapot is made out of silver and about the age.

Oel

[JBA]

Indeed, that was my reasoning for asking if s/he'd had it for long, and for phrasing "the marks are for" as opposed to "this is by".

I wonder if the marks are not fake, but didn't wish to be rude.

It's possible that the piece is genuine period but with wrong marks- I hear they are augmenting old Chinese silver with fake makers marks.

They are also making things in this style brand new, and oxidising and polishing them to look old. The decoration looks quite sharp to me.

[JBA]

Specifically, I think the people who made this punch have misread the numerals "90" and rendered them "GO" instead.

Also the WH and chinese letters look quite crude.

However, I am far from an expert in this field and so wish to tread carefully before condemning someone's property.

[oel]

Yes, you are right and I agree with your comments. Let us wait for an expert opinion.

Oel

[rauls]

Specifically, I think the people who made this punch have misread the numerals "90" and rendered them "GO" instead.

Also the WH and chinese letters look quite crude.

However, I am far from an expert in this field and so wish to tread carefully before condemning someone's property.

Correct, it's just a small problem on the punch. There are two typical issues/typos on the marks of CES which made by Guangdong silversmiths and sold by Hong Kong retail & export companies. One is some "90" punches was made like "OG", the other is some "CS" marks (for Cum Shing) actually read "CZ". After looking the picture of the teapot carefully, I don't think it's a fake.

[oel]

Thanks Raul,

Just to see if I understood. The first mark WH or HM is a retailer’s mark for Hong Kong retail & export companies, the second mark read actually CS (Z) and OG stands for 90. OK?

Regards,

Oel

[JBA]

Very interesting! Honestly, it does look quite authentic but I know the fakers are very proficient, and the photo is a bit small. I did actually wonder if it was a genuine piece, just with wrong marks, a la Mexican (Spanish) Colonial silver.

So it's a recognised and acceptable thing to have the 90 mark rendered GO?

[rauls]

Thanks Raul,

Just to see if I understood. The first mark WH or HM is a retailer’s mark for Hong Kong retail & export companies, the second mark read actually CS (Z) and OG stands for 90. OK?

Regards,

Oel

Yes, the OG mark is actually 90 for the fineness.

[Ree Ray]

I greatly appreciate everyone's comments and input. Just to provide a bit of background, the teapot, along with a matching creamer, were acquired several years back during an estate sale. Both items have been tucked away in storage and ultimately, out of sight, out of mind, until just recently.

As such, we were most interested in determining whether the teapot and creamer were comprised of silver or coin metal and had them tested. The items returned a finding of being 90% silver. It was during that testing, which sparked our curiosity. We were approached by an asian jeweler who explained that the detailing in the teapot is what caught his attention and expressed an interest as he felt it would be an excellent conversational piece as he was hosting a chinese new year celebration. His initial offer was intended to equal the weight of the teapot and the current market price of silver, however after a quick look at the markings, that offer rapidly increased and tripled. We thanked him for his interest and decided it would be most prudent for us to take the time to look into determining the background and true value of these pieces.

[oel]

Hi,

Nice story although I believe it to be odd to buy something and stuck it away and forget all about it. Why bought it? But then the price of silver goes up and we suddenly remember the teapot in the basement. The potential Asian buyer, who rapidly increased his offer, could not give you any information about the markings? Lovely story but please, next time, give us all the information up front. Good luck with the teapot.

Oel