Prized for its rich decoration and as an interesting reflection of cross-cultural exchange, Chinese export silver is becoming increasingly sought after by collectors today.
What is Chinese export silver?
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, most of the world’s silver was mined in Bolivia and Mexico by Spanish colonisers. Some of this silver made its way to China, where traders used it to pay for goods - including Chinese porcelain, spices, silks and tea - to be exported to Europe. While these exported goods helped to drive the ‘chinoiserie’ fashion in Europe, the silver that arrived in China was melted and used to produce a quantity of other wares. At first the silver was used only by the foreign community in Canton, but as trade with China grew, a wider market developed in the West. The silverware produced for this Western clientele became known as Chinese export silver and had its roots in the skills and silversmithing techniques that had been used in China for centuries. Although isolated pieces were traded in earlier years, the period of regular production of silver for export was from the 18th to mid-20th century.
Distinctive elements of Chinese export silver
The earliest pieces of Chinese silver produced for the Western market were intended to copy European pieces. They were functional items, such as tankards, flatware and tea sets, and were almost indistinguishable from those made in Europe. During this first period, in particular, the silver workshops remained anonymous and Chinese silversmiths often marked silver with pseudo-English marks. Lot 294 in Roseberys’ June 26th Silver sale is an interesting example of this practice, as it shows a set of six 19th century Fiddle, Thread and Shell pattern dessert spoons, a very common pattern in English silver flatware of that period. The marks stamped to the reverse of the spoons imitate English hallmarks and include the lion rampant, a date mark, a city mark and the duty mark, as well as the maker’s mark of WE/WE/WC, which is an imitation of the mark used by the English silver firm William Eley, William Fearn and William Chawner. 
Lot 294: A set of six Chinese export silver dessert spoons (June 2024)
Similarly, Lot 295 in the sale comprises a matched set of seven Chinese export silver dessert forks, decorated with the same Fiddle, Thread and Shell pattern and featuring various marks in imitation of British hallmarks.
Lot 295: A matched set of seven Chinese export silver dessert forks
The pseudo-English hallmarks ceased to be used during the third quarter of the 19th century; from that time on, pieces were marked with the name of the silversmith in romanised form - or with their initials - and were often accompanied by Chinese characters indicating the silversmithing firm, retailer, workshop or artisan with which they were associated.
From the second half of the 19th Century, with the growth of international trade and the subsequent burgeoning interest in Chinese art among the Western audience, silversmiths in China began to combine different elements in their creations. Pieces from this period are often characterised by Western-inspired forms co-existing with symbols and traditional Chinese motifs. Vegetal and floral motifs, such as the chrysanthemum, prunus, orchid and bamboo, often feature in Chinese export silver. Dragons are also extremely popular motifs, symbolising wisdom and prosperity.
Initially most pieces were acquired by partners in Chinese Trade Firms or given as gifts by captains or officers working in naval companies. A common custom was to present a piece of plate to someone when they retired to thank them for their service, or to gift silverware to visiting or departing dignitaries. Silver cups or trophies were often awarded as prizes in sporting competitions: as a result, many were engraved with presentation inscriptions and/or dates. A number of these pieces have since had their inscriptions erased, so collectors should inspect Chinese export silver carefully to make sure that an erasure has not caused thinning of the metal. As with silver in general, other factors to consider before acquiring a piece are: the degree of wear (eg. dents, surface scratching and wear to decoration), the clarity of any marks, the quality of workmanship, and any signs of repair, for example to handles, hinges and other areas of weakness.
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