{"id":8443273642134,"title":"Straits Chinese Silver teapot, 19th century (1870-1910 circa), Canton, mark of Da Xing","handle":"straits-chinese-silver-teapot-19th-century-1870-1910-circa-canton-mark-of-da-xing","description":"\u003cp\u003eStraits Chinese Silver teapot, 19th century (1870-1910 circa), Canton, mark of Da Xing\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful solid silver Straits Chinese teapot, produced for Chinese export in the 19th century, is\u003cbr\u003edecorated with floral patterns, branches, blooms and bamboo. The Straits Settlements were British\u003cbr\u003ecolonial territories of settlements around British Malaya.\u003cbr\u003e1\u003cbr\u003e‘Straits Chinese’ were Chinese born migrants in\u003cbr\u003eSoutheast Asia, maintaining unique cultures which distinguished them from the indigenous population.\u003cbr\u003eThese communities settled in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, establishing themselves in\u003cbr\u003ethese lands predominantly in the 19th century.\u003cbr\u003e2 While Chinese tea aficionados typically preferred to not\u003cbr\u003euse silver, as freshly brewed tea in silver remained too hot to drink and the handle uncomfortable to hold.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, the Mongolian custom was to demonstrate wealth and prestige through silver and gold and the\u003cbr\u003eStraits Chinese, who were predominately merchants and traders, enjoyed this manner of consumption and\u003cbr\u003eluxury. However, the silver teapots and artefacts they preferred were small and delicate.\u003cbr\u003e3\u003cbr\u003eFeatured around the teapot are groups of figures, one group surrounded by bamboo and tree trunks while\u003cbr\u003ethe other figures are surrounded by flowers with a large butterfly close above them. This tea pot closely\u003cbr\u003eresembles other similar silver tea sets which were produced for export, melding European designs with\u003cbr\u003eChinese. This genre is known as Chinoiserie. Bamboo, Chinese figures, scenes and symbols are featured\u003cbr\u003ealongside what many perceive as European patterns and style,\u003cbr\u003e4\u003cbr\u003ethe meander or ‘Greek key’ design, which\u003cbr\u003eis in several places around the teapot. However, this design, in addition to Classical antiquity, can be\u003cbr\u003efound in ancient China, described as a huiwen 回紋.\u003cbr\u003e5 Therefore, it is plausible that this design would have\u003cbr\u003eappealed to Straits Chinese and Western clients.\u003cbr\u003e6 Chinese teapots, irrespective of whether they were\u003cbr\u003eproduced silver, gold, enamel, porcelain or pottery, are typically low and round, generally resembling a\u003cbr\u003e6 Arkell.\u003cbr\u003e5 Jeong-Hee Lee-Kalisch, ‘The Transmission of Ornaments in Buddhist Art: On the\u003cbr\u003eMeander of Huiwen’, Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 1.2 (2018):\u003cbr\u003e111-130 (p. 112).\u003cbr\u003e4 Roland Arkell, ‘Chinese Export Silver,Silver Linings’, Asian Art, Antiques Trade Gazette\u003cbr\u003e(2019) \u0026lt;https:\/\/chinesesilver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AAS-2019-chinese-export.pdf\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e[accessed 19 June 2025].\u003cbr\u003e3 HoWing Meng, Straits Chinese Silver, A Collector’s Guide (Singapore: Times Books\u003cbr\u003eInternational, 1984), pp. 149-150.\u003cbr\u003e2 Mark Ravinder Frost, ‘Transactional Diaspora: The Straits Chinese in Singapore,\u003cbr\u003e1819-1918’, Asia Research Institute, ARI Working Paper, No. 10 (2003) 1-44 (pp. 1-2).\u003cbr\u003e1 David Newman, ‘British Colonial Censorship Regimes: Hong Kong, Straits\u003cbr\u003eSettlements, and Shanghai International Settlement 1916-1941’, Silencing Cinema: Film\u003cbr\u003eCensorship Around the World, ed.by Daniel Biltereyst \u0026amp; Roel Vande Winkel (2013)\u003cbr\u003e167-191 (p. 168).\u003cbr\u003epear or are of a compressed globular form. Furthermore, diminutive tea pots were considered refined and\u003cbr\u003etasteful by Straits Chinese\u003cbr\u003e7\u003cbr\u003eOn the teapot’s base is 大興 which is the Maker’s Mark of Da Xing. A silver salver, by Da Xing,\u003cbr\u003ewho is estimated to have been active between 1870-1910 , was sold in Christie’s in 2014.8 Da\u003cbr\u003eXing, like other Chinese silversmiths, created imaginative variations on functional Western\u003cbr\u003eartefacts while embellishing them with traditional Chinese motifs. Da Xing made silver\u003cbr\u003eespecially for export to Southeast Asia,9\u003cbr\u003etherefore part of his workshop would have catered for\u003cbr\u003ethe Straits Chinese market.\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful teapot, with its floral motifs, depictions of archetypal Chinese imagery such as\u003cbr\u003ebamboo, bridges constructed from branches, a butterfly and figures in Chinese clothing, alludes\u003cbr\u003eto when commerce between two differing cultures created objects and genres anew through their\u003cbr\u003efusion. Attested to by its Maker’s Mark, this is an expertly crafted silver teapot produced by Da\u003cbr\u003eXing who demonstrated an acute awareness of what would appeal to his own, Strait Chinese as\u003cbr\u003ewell as Western cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeasurements:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLength: 15.5 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWidth:10 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeight: 284 grams\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2025-07-04T15:22:59+01:00","created_at":"2025-07-04T15:22:58+01:00","vendor":"Joseph Cohen Antiques","type":"Straits Chinese Silver teapot, 19th century (1870-1910 circa), Canton, mark of Da Xing","tags":["Chinese Straits Silver"],"price":170000,"price_min":170000,"price_max":170000,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":45175220371606,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"JC-STRA-07194","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Straits Chinese Silver teapot, 19th century (1870-1910 circa), Canton, mark of Da Xing","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":170000,"weight":0,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2840.jpg?v=1751636482","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2842.jpg?v=1751636513","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2843.jpg?v=1751636522","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2844.jpg?v=1751636529","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2841.jpg?v=1751636504","\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2845.jpg?v=1751636538"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2840.jpg?v=1751636482","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":30542561018006,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2840.jpg?v=1751636482"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2840.jpg?v=1751636482","width":1920},{"alt":null,"id":30542564098198,"position":2,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2842.jpg?v=1751636513"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2842.jpg?v=1751636513","width":1920},{"alt":null,"id":30542564753558,"position":3,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2843.jpg?v=1751636522"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2843.jpg?v=1751636522","width":1920},{"alt":null,"id":30542565081238,"position":4,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2844.jpg?v=1751636529"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2844.jpg?v=1751636529","width":1920},{"alt":null,"id":30542563508374,"position":5,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2841.jpg?v=1751636504"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2841.jpg?v=1751636504","width":1920},{"alt":null,"id":30542565834902,"position":6,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"width":1920,"src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2845.jpg?v=1751636538"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":1920,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.josephcohenantiques.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/thumbnail_DSC_2845.jpg?v=1751636538","width":1920}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003eStraits Chinese Silver teapot, 19th century (1870-1910 circa), Canton, mark of Da Xing\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful solid silver Straits Chinese teapot, produced for Chinese export in the 19th century, is\u003cbr\u003edecorated with floral patterns, branches, blooms and bamboo. The Straits Settlements were British\u003cbr\u003ecolonial territories of settlements around British Malaya.\u003cbr\u003e1\u003cbr\u003e‘Straits Chinese’ were Chinese born migrants in\u003cbr\u003eSoutheast Asia, maintaining unique cultures which distinguished them from the indigenous population.\u003cbr\u003eThese communities settled in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, establishing themselves in\u003cbr\u003ethese lands predominantly in the 19th century.\u003cbr\u003e2 While Chinese tea aficionados typically preferred to not\u003cbr\u003euse silver, as freshly brewed tea in silver remained too hot to drink and the handle uncomfortable to hold.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, the Mongolian custom was to demonstrate wealth and prestige through silver and gold and the\u003cbr\u003eStraits Chinese, who were predominately merchants and traders, enjoyed this manner of consumption and\u003cbr\u003eluxury. However, the silver teapots and artefacts they preferred were small and delicate.\u003cbr\u003e3\u003cbr\u003eFeatured around the teapot are groups of figures, one group surrounded by bamboo and tree trunks while\u003cbr\u003ethe other figures are surrounded by flowers with a large butterfly close above them. This tea pot closely\u003cbr\u003eresembles other similar silver tea sets which were produced for export, melding European designs with\u003cbr\u003eChinese. This genre is known as Chinoiserie. Bamboo, Chinese figures, scenes and symbols are featured\u003cbr\u003ealongside what many perceive as European patterns and style,\u003cbr\u003e4\u003cbr\u003ethe meander or ‘Greek key’ design, which\u003cbr\u003eis in several places around the teapot. However, this design, in addition to Classical antiquity, can be\u003cbr\u003efound in ancient China, described as a huiwen 回紋.\u003cbr\u003e5 Therefore, it is plausible that this design would have\u003cbr\u003eappealed to Straits Chinese and Western clients.\u003cbr\u003e6 Chinese teapots, irrespective of whether they were\u003cbr\u003eproduced silver, gold, enamel, porcelain or pottery, are typically low and round, generally resembling a\u003cbr\u003e6 Arkell.\u003cbr\u003e5 Jeong-Hee Lee-Kalisch, ‘The Transmission of Ornaments in Buddhist Art: On the\u003cbr\u003eMeander of Huiwen’, Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 1.2 (2018):\u003cbr\u003e111-130 (p. 112).\u003cbr\u003e4 Roland Arkell, ‘Chinese Export Silver,Silver Linings’, Asian Art, Antiques Trade Gazette\u003cbr\u003e(2019) \u0026lt;https:\/\/chinesesilver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AAS-2019-chinese-export.pdf\u0026gt;\u003cbr\u003e[accessed 19 June 2025].\u003cbr\u003e3 HoWing Meng, Straits Chinese Silver, A Collector’s Guide (Singapore: Times Books\u003cbr\u003eInternational, 1984), pp. 149-150.\u003cbr\u003e2 Mark Ravinder Frost, ‘Transactional Diaspora: The Straits Chinese in Singapore,\u003cbr\u003e1819-1918’, Asia Research Institute, ARI Working Paper, No. 10 (2003) 1-44 (pp. 1-2).\u003cbr\u003e1 David Newman, ‘British Colonial Censorship Regimes: Hong Kong, Straits\u003cbr\u003eSettlements, and Shanghai International Settlement 1916-1941’, Silencing Cinema: Film\u003cbr\u003eCensorship Around the World, ed.by Daniel Biltereyst \u0026amp; Roel Vande Winkel (2013)\u003cbr\u003e167-191 (p. 168).\u003cbr\u003epear or are of a compressed globular form. Furthermore, diminutive tea pots were considered refined and\u003cbr\u003etasteful by Straits Chinese\u003cbr\u003e7\u003cbr\u003eOn the teapot’s base is 大興 which is the Maker’s Mark of Da Xing. A silver salver, by Da Xing,\u003cbr\u003ewho is estimated to have been active between 1870-1910 , was sold in Christie’s in 2014.8 Da\u003cbr\u003eXing, like other Chinese silversmiths, created imaginative variations on functional Western\u003cbr\u003eartefacts while embellishing them with traditional Chinese motifs. Da Xing made silver\u003cbr\u003eespecially for export to Southeast Asia,9\u003cbr\u003etherefore part of his workshop would have catered for\u003cbr\u003ethe Straits Chinese market.\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful teapot, with its floral motifs, depictions of archetypal Chinese imagery such as\u003cbr\u003ebamboo, bridges constructed from branches, a butterfly and figures in Chinese clothing, alludes\u003cbr\u003eto when commerce between two differing cultures created objects and genres anew through their\u003cbr\u003efusion. Attested to by its Maker’s Mark, this is an expertly crafted silver teapot produced by Da\u003cbr\u003eXing who demonstrated an acute awareness of what would appeal to his own, Strait Chinese as\u003cbr\u003ewell as Western cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeasurements:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLength: 15.5 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWidth:10 cm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeight: 284 grams\u003c\/p\u003e"}