Chinese Silver Napkin Ring

Hi, I believe this napkin ring is Chinese silver, but I'm not sure. 18K acid scratch test indicates good silver content on the surface, but I know this test can give a false positive for heavily plated items. Does anyone know the meaning of the marks, or of the enamel character on the front of the ring? I'm not even sure where to start with researching them so any guidance would be helpful.

Weight is 27.5 grams, width is about 1 1/4 inches, and diameter is a little under 2 inches. The raised design looks like a separate piece of silver put on top of the flat background of the ring. Is there a name for this construction?

I have 2 of these, so I've shown the marks from both rings. I think the second mark is a little clearer. It is from the ring not pictured which is not in as good shape.

As always, any help is much appreciated.

 

If u aren't an expert have a jeweler tell u what the metal is. It is a newly-made item and the Chinese won't use precious metals for the inexpensive souvenir items they export to Western markets. I've had a few Chinese fake silver items that were marked as silver in Chinese but contained no silver. I have no way of knowing what your items are made of from your pix or text, just suggesting u get an expert opinion. These days, with very few exceptions, all "antiques" coming from China are new and everything billed as made from precious metals or minerals is fake.

 

It's not new.

 

Perhaps the figures are the five immortals?

"According to the ancient legends, the Five Immortals were endowed with great wisdom.

The Great Master of this lineage or The First Immortal, was deeply engaged in his studies of the Book of Changes (known in China as ‘Yi Jing’). He was also adept in Confucian Analects and the practices of virtue, compassion and forbearance in times of great conflict. He pursued the heavens, nurturing and protecting humanity and the constants.

The Second Immortal was the most advanced in Gong-Fu and the Martial Arts practices which he preserved in the interest of protecting the people by martial virtue and physical strength.

The Third Immortal was the master of coursing qi, meditating on stillness and cultivating internal alchemy, with an emphasis on the grasp of life and the reversal of yin and yang.

The Fourth of the Immortals was the master of herbal medicine and healing. He rescued humans from their sufferings and healed the heart. He was proficient in distinguishing between cause and effect.

The Fifth Immortal was a musical expert who was devoted to preserving the rhapsodies, songs and tunes of the lineage.

The Immortals were known by the locals as the protector Gods of their families and relatives. On special days of celebration, the local people would climb the mountain to offer gratitude and reverence or to haul daily necessities to the residing Daoist monks. It is about one hours journey on foot from the village to the temple.

The Immortals teach people the virtue of morality and compassion and the essence of heart-mind. They teach people to cultivate integrity and to nurture the innate nature of the self. The masters have revealed their supernatural abilities to help people in need and so crowds of people from the surrounding areas often climb to carry sacrificial offerings to them."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Immortals_Temple

 

In addition to the usual things most of us look at to establish the age of an item, I look pretty hard at how I think it was made. Over time, with continuously increasing wages, traditional methods become too expensive for all but very expensive jewelry, Rolls Royce autos, etc.

If these rings were vintage items, I'd expect to see a one-piece lost-wax casting, with appropriate chasing, polishing etc. to finish it, assuming it is silver.

Looking closely at magnified photos of this ring you can see it was made from either 3 or 4 pieces. The "openwork" or pierced cylinder, the plain cylindrical body, and either one or two thin rings forming the end-flanges are those separate parts which were then assembled and presumably glued somehow, or pressed together tightly. This strikes me as quite a clever, modern production method aimed at saving time and money.

Zoom in on the first photo to see how the top ring is slightly skewed so you see the ring below the body in the right foreground. At the bottom you can clearly see how the openwork piece is separate from the thin ring.

 

Believe the mark on the right is that of the silversmith Heng Li or Heng Lee. According to the following on the 925-1000 silver forum, Heng Li was in operation fron 1880 to 1920 in Tientsin, China. The message shows 2 marks. The top one may, not sure, be the same as the one on right of this napkin ring. Anyways, the bottom mark appears to be the same as the one on the left of the ring.

Scroll down to the 3rd message with the pic of a pitcher:
"Chinese Export Silver and Far East Infomation"
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=24259&start=160



"Heng Li is thought to have been operating in Tientsin during the period 1880-1920. (The Collectors' Guide to Chinese Export Silver - 1785-1940 - 3rd Edition 2013 - Adrien Von Ferscht)"

Here is another itm by Heng Li. Their is a pic of 3 of his marks. The middle one still looks similar to the one on the left of this ring. If you google "Heng Li" other silver with the marks will come up.

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/d...t-silver-locking-box-circa-1890/id-f_2470672/

--- Susan

 

Spring, you've described precisely one of the methods used by past Chinese silversmiths. Don't forget that the Chinese were masters at what was effectively mass production of lovely quality stuff - this was made for the export or tourist trade. Similar parameters apply to all sorts of other things, such as porcelain and even ivory.

Your multiple part method goes back centuries or even millenia - the item isn't glued, obviously, but may be silver soldered or attached using heat, then polished out.

And indeed, if you look at old British silver, you see similar techniques. We used smithing techniques, hand embossing and chasing, and engine turning. Lost wax was mostly used for jewellery.

Others will know more, but lost wax wasn't used much by the Chinese, I think, certainly not for things like this.

The thing that said to me this wasn't brand new was the sheer quality of the chasing and embossing. That with the wear on the marks, general wear and the colour of the silver says a great deal. (Mind you, there's some super modern silver made in China.)

Modern "fake" Chinese silver is usually rhodium plated or has a high rhodium content. it's super shiny and smells wrong.

 

Thank you everyone for your comments and Susan for your time and effort looking into the marks. I will follow those links and see where they lead. As for old or new, in hand, this looks and feels well made and vintage.

 

I can see 3 items on-line where one of the two marks looks like it may be the same as the left mark on my item. These are pitcher and box Susan cited and a 3-piece tea set on Live Auctioneers. However, they all look different in style to my item. I wonder if my napkin ring might be from the same time period/location/retailer but a different maker, since in all three marks only part is a match.

 

Why wouldn't you just post it on the 925-1000 forums? There are a couple of quite knowledgeable members there, even Adrian von Ferscht, author of the book cited in Susan's post, pops in every once in a while. It's also a good place to post Russian items, an area so filled with fakes that I won't even delve into it - though I always hesitate to suggest it since those members can be a contentious bunch, but the Asian silver folks are quite pleasant...

If you decide to join, just use a different ID than your selling handle, don't mention putting it up for sale or ask a value (though dealers are very welcome there), and remember to thank anyone who might answer (the lack of simple 'thanks' is part of the reason I answer so few queries anymore).

~Cheryl

 

Cheryl, thanks for the advice. I actually just posted on that forum before I saw your post above. Took me awhile to figure out how to post the photos, but I finally got it. I did use my same user ID that I sell under, hope this will not be a problem. And I hear you about the thanks. I know it takes time and effort to post comments, and some people do time consuming research. Susan, again, appreciate your research on the marks. OBB, Pat, Springfld I appreciate your lengthy comments and the time involved. I'll report back if I learn anything on the 925-1000 forum.

 

Well, it looks like my post was deleted on the 925-1000 forum. Not sure why, but probably my own fault for not reading the posting requirements before posting. Could be my user id being the same as my ebay id, or my not being sure it was solid silver, neither of which is allowed on that forum. Not sure there's anything I can do about this, Cheryl, any advice?

 

Not deleted, just moved to the proper 'Far East' Forum...

 

Cheryl, thank you. I see it now. And, of course Far East, not Middle East. I have really made a bumble of my first post there...

 

Sorry - tried to let you know right away instead of leaving a 'shadow' in place, but you were too quick - and your post was fine, polite, clearly written and great pics, just posted in the 'single image' forum. Don't worry about your user name, it was an honest mistake - if an admin contacts you (doubtful), just explain that you missed it in the posting requirements and ask if you can change the ID.

~Cheryl

 

Thanks Cheryl, hope it will be ok. I tried to go in and change my user ID but did not see a way to do it.

 

Eh, don't worry about it - so far as I know, only two people have the ability to change a handle, and one is seldom on the forums anymore (he'd probably be the only one to catch it). I only sell under my 'dragonflywink' ID occasionally to keep it active, but did set up a different ID on 925-1000 when that rule was instituted, only to be told that I was 'grandfathered' in...

~Cheryl

 

You don't see that kind of workmanship on modern fakes. The money isn't in it: genuine Chinese export silver is fairly abundant and doesn't bring particularly high prices since it doesn't attract Chinese buyers.

In any event, the mark is not Heng Li. The mark that appears on all these pieces is 足紋 zu wen, a mark of silver quality. The other mark on the OP's piece is 洪 興. This is read Hong Xing in modern Mandarin transcription, but no doubt the shop at the time had a name with a somewhat different reading.

The large character on the piece is the decorative character 囍 , representing Double Happiness.

 

Thank you so much khl889 for sharing your knowledge. That is great information and much appreciated. Would you say that the silver quality mark means that this is solid silver as opposed to anything plated?

 

Info from the 925-1000 Board agrees that the mark is Hong Xing, and is not related to Heng Li. The front enamel character is double happiness, and the knowledgeable poster thought the napkin ring looked late 19th century. For more info about possible interpretations of the mark, go to the thread in the Silver Forums, under Asian Silver, Far East.