A fun antique Chinese export silver belt with two fire breathing dragons on every link. 35 inches long with 38 links plus the oval buckle. That makes for 36 dragons in all. Full hall marks as shown. Very good condition with no damage. Great patina.
A fine Japanese carved ivory letter opener in the shape of an oriental sword. It has unusual relief carvings covering most of the blade, excellent detail. Also a sterling plate with conforming decorations and a blank space for a monogram. Meiji era.
An unusual Chinese export antique silver hexagonal form master salt cellar on 4 little ball feet and with Peking glass liner. The silver vessel was made complete with openwork all around to form the designs: a prunus and a bamboo scene on opposite sides; the other 4 sides has Chinese characters for health & tenacity, fortune & longevity, 100 fortunes & numerous years (longevity again). Bottom hallmark says "Luenwo" "312" and Chinese silversmith hallmark. (Usually ...click for details
A very useful Chinese export silver card case with a character on each side over stippled ground. One says "fortune" (or luck shown in 1st pic) and the other "longevity". The inside is lightly gold washed. There is a Chinese 2 character hallmark (hard to decipher maybe "Shing Tai") and also an english mark "S Co. Silver"". This was most likely made in the Shanghai or Hongkong regions between 1890-1920s.
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A fine Chinese export silver tazza or offering compote with a bowl in the form of lotus petal points along the rim. The bowl and the pedestal are both heavily repousse with fields of lotus in various stages of growth. There are 2 Chinese marks one meaning pure silver and the other would be the shop or smith mark now hard to decipher. This is an early 1900s export to the South East Pacific Asia market. The cobalt blue liner appears to be of a later date.
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A fine Edo period (1603-1868) or earlier iron tsuba of a classic form and with mixed metal decorations in gold and silver. A wonderful butterfly with dark patinated wings and with gold highlights. The spray of flowers in gold and silver. Those fierce samurai loved their flowers and butterflies! And the metal smiths were without equal working with mixed metals.
A nice set of antique Chinese export silver buckles. Each is a Chinese character enclosed within a horse shoe with lots of open work. They stand for good fortune and long life typically Chinese. One of the hallmarks I think reads "Kwan Tak". The Chinese are inveterate gamblers. Both Shanghai and Hongkong had thriving race courses. These are from the roaring 20's. These buckles bring an extra dose of luck!
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This is a fun antique Chinese export silver war junk on a beautifully carved and fitted stand. The typical junk sails are textured in silver to resemble the real thing. The stiff sailors are dressed in the fancy uniforms of the 19th century Ch'ing (Qing) troops. There are cannons mounted on the bridge which is aft and very high normal for Chinese junks. Really detailed pair of anchors hanging off the bow. The rudder moves as do the penants. And the stand is just great, lots of detail i ...click for details
A fine and glittering old Japanese wireless cloisonne vase with wonderful plum blossoms and a cute pale green bird chirping on a branch. Deep apple green ground on silver foil. The silver beneath the enamel has a pattern of bamboo leaves a touch of high quality cloisonne. No signature.
About 100 years old Meiji era. 7.3" high & 4" diameter at shoulder. A little rubbing to the silver at the footr ...click for details
A wonderful antique Japanese export silver tea caddy (covered jar) with flying dragons in sharp relief. It is actually silver plate or low silver alloy. Polishes beautifully. No marks anywhere. Meiji or Taisho era.
3" square x 4.3" high. Very good condition no dents or repairs; a little sign of light usage.