Chinese card case

[oel]

Hi,

Chinese card case with 2 Chinese characters, looking for maker’s name. I welcome all information .Thanks in advance.
















Oel

[davidross]

Hi Oel,

The maker appears to be 全聚 "Quanju," literally "fireside" or "hearth." I have been unable to confirm this or find other work by this maker, so hopefully someone else will have a better idea or know more.

The second mark appears to be a heavily rubbed 足銀 ("fine silver") mark.

As you know, of course, a retailer's mark would reveal much more about the piece.

Best regards,

David R

[oel]

Hello David,

Thank you very much for translating and explaining the Chinese characters and the thought behind it.

Best wishes,

Oel

[rauls]

Yes, it's 全聚, I knew nothing more about it, maybe a silversmith in the last half of 19c.

It's hard to tell the other mark is 足銀 or 足紋.

[oel]

Hi Rauls, I appreciate your input please help me out; if 足銀 means "fine silver" what does 足紋 mean? Thanks very much for your assistance.

Best wishes,

Oel

[rauls]

Hi Rauls, I appreciate your input please help me out; if 足銀 means "fine silver" what does 足紋 mean? Thanks very much for your assistance.

Hello Oel, these two words are the same. In China, people called high-grade silver as '紋銀' and low-grade silver as '潮銀' until about 1950s. For silver firms based on different area (or silversmith came from different area), they used some different marks for "fine silver", such as:

足銀 - (has) sufficient silver (in the item)

紋銀 - (made with) high-grade silver

足紋銀 - (has) sufficient high-grade silver (in the item)

保足銀 - it's guaranteed that the item has sufficient silver

As you can see, there are some slight differences in the words, but actually the same in the meanings.

Rauls

[oel]

Hello Rauls,

Thanks for the excellent explanation.

Best,

Oel