antique boxed japanese silver? tea set.

[jkemnitz]

I was able to acquire this set recently, and was wondering if anyone had any information on the marks on the bottom? There are four pieces in the set. A tea pot, creamer, sugar, and tongs. All pieces are marked but the tongs. The box is as preaty as the set with round fruit wood dowl peg construction. I am lost a I see no jungin mark or none of them appear to be but I guess I could be wrong. No reaction to 14k acid so I am assuming it is silver but I just am not sure? Any help would be kindly recieved. Thanks so very much.

[davidross]

The uppermost mark does indeed say jungin, so there should be no further need for acid tests, etc.

If you could post pictures of the entire pieces as well as of the box, it might be easier to identify the maker.

Regards
DR

[jkemnitz]

I am still lost as too the other hallmarks on the piece?.?. I handle and collect silver and have for many years and always have been able to locate a mark no matter how ubscure. Here are a few more pictures on a few of the other pieces. Honestly the one of the nicest set I have seen anywhere. The chasing is as fine as I have ever seen by leaps and bounds. Any thoughts on the other two marks.

[davidross]

Thanks for posting more images of a splendid tea set.

Does the box have any writing on it? Usually, Japanese silver is cased in an unfinished paulownia wood or pine box that includes information about the maker. The box seen in the photos appears to be stained zelkova wood and with the velvet lining, was definitely made for export.

Of the three marks shown, the uppermost is a jungin mark.

The second mark is that of the maker. I believe this is 春蔵 and is most likely read either Haruzo or Shunzo.

The third mark is that of the engraver / sculptor 義 and is most likely read Yoshitomo or possibly Giei.

I have been unable to find any information on either the maker or the engraver, which is not unusual for late 19th century Japanese silver, even for such a finely crafted set. Documentation may eventually turn up.

The wirework on the teaset is similar to that on an unsigned pot posted a few months ago and makes an interesting point of comparison:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=32225

Regards,

David R

[jkemnitz]

Thank you so very much. I knew it was japanese as I have a few other teapots but I looked for many many hours and would never have found the information you provided. The box is unmarked but appears to be put together by an actual cabinet maker. The box has seen better days but is worth having reglued and looked after. Would you recomend fixxing the box or leaving it alone? It is very stable but I think it would maybe add a bit of value put back to it's original state. Again I appreciate your time and effort as I really spent hours researching and found nothing. Another note is the jungin mark is stylized different then the more modern pieces, I think that is why I couldn't recognize it, athough I looked at is so many times I may have fooled myself. I saved the maks in my archives and if anyone else has something to add please do. What a wonderful and helpful websight!

[davidross]

You are very welcome.

The box was probably made by a professional tansu or longcase hibachi maker and provides an important context for the teaset, showing that it is complete with no missing pieces, as originally marketed for export. I would recommend treating the box with the same importance as the teaset and have it reglued and perhaps lightly restored but not refinished. Dings on the box may well account for what appears to be a remarkable state of preservation of the teaset.

Some of the adverts that have been posted in the Contributors' Notes under the Chinese Export Silver and Far Eastern Trade section may also be of interest. They give some indication of the flourishing Japanese silver trade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cheers
DR