Exceptionally Fine Chinese Export Silver Tea Caddy with Red Agate Finial
Late Qing Dynasty, ca. 1925
Decorated by Two Chased Repoussé Dragons in the Clouds
Jin Long (金龍), Tianjin, fl. 1900 - 1935
Magnificent rendering of two dragons in flight through clouds, in high-relief repoussé topped with a rich red spherical agate finial. This rarefied & glorious tea caddy boasts finely-tooled finishing to the decoration.
Only the choicest pieces were capped in genuine hardstone, following ancient Imperial tradition, suggesting this was a commissioned work.
Peerless in its class, outstripping the quality of other early 20th century output, witness the work of a master silversmith & gifted artist, with a sense of history.
Condition is excellent. No flaws, damage, or repairs. Some routine surface scratches.
THE STORY
I am *always* in search of the very finest in Chinese & Japanese antiques. The appeal is broad, as these two ancient cultures outstrip both talent & quality in the fine Decorative Arts when set against ALL cultures on planet Earth.
One gets into say, an Asian silver auction, and benefits (fortuitously), from the precision of one great collector forced to sell for whatever reason. When I bid, I choose only the very best - even of a great collector’s lifetime of selective buying. I apply the same rule to any auction, anywhere. Well, it’s more an instinct than a rule, but it amounts to the same thing in the end. It’s this ever-refining winnowing fan of taste & aesthetic improvement, rarification. As our motto says: “You can buy anything…except good taste.”
This little tea caddy is simply the best of its class (meaning for the year, period, style, and form: do not compare late 19th to early 20th, etc.), and that’s why I had to have it.
One sees many of these, but not like this. Until you’ve felt those high ridges on the whiskers of this flying dragon - so virile & potent in his mystical malevolence - you don’t know what true greatness in repoussé, chasing, and tooling…really is...
The moment and the experience is tactile, sexual, and unforgettable. You don’t get these enlightenments from photographs - no matter how high-resolution - and it’s why collectors become who they are, and end-up the stewards of human genius & our highest strivings for all times….eventually (and inevitably), with these objects ending their lives as museum donations.
BUT, without the **BEST TASTE** first, and the best knowledge & experience, the process can never begin - the wings are never given to take flight.
I hereby, give you my wings. Take flight with this masterpiece, and never fear to touch your purchase, enjoy it. The delicate hand of a connoisseur cannot diminish even a masterpiece. Even the most beautiful, sometimes, crave a hand to feel the light of life.
Inanimate, as a Shinto devotee will tell you, does not mean….unalive…
Notes:
~ 5” tall & ~ 4” wide
~ 6 TROY OUNCES
N.B. Antique Asian silver purity is highly variable and will not be estimated.
SOLID SILVER!
*NOT* PLATED
Exceptionally Fine Chinese Export Silver Tea Caddy with Red Agate Finial
Late Qing Dynasty, ca. 1925
Decorated by Two Chased Repoussé Dragons in the Clouds
Jin Long (金龍), Tianjin, fl. 1900 - 1935
Magnificent rendering of two dragons in flight through clouds, in high-relief repoussé topped with a rich red spherical agate finial. This rarefied & glorious tea caddy boasts finely-tooled finishing to the decoration.
Only the choicest pieces were capped in genuine hardstone, following ancient Imperial tradition, suggesting this was a commissioned work.
Peerless in its class, outstripping the quality of other early 20th century output, witness the work of a master silversmith & gifted artist, with a sense of history.
Condition is excellent. No flaws, damage, or repairs. Some routine surface scratches.
THE STORY
I am *always* in search of the very finest in Chinese & Japanese antiques. The appeal is broad, as these two ancient cultures outstrip both talent & quality in the fine Decorative Arts when set against ALL cultures on planet Earth.
One gets into say, an Asian silver auction, and benefits (fortuitously), from the precision of one great collector forced to sell for whatever reason. When I bid, I choose only the very best - even of a great collector’s lifetime of selective buying. I apply the same rule to any auction, anywhere. Well, it’s more an instinct than a rule, but it amounts to the same thing in the end. It’s this ever-refining winnowing fan of taste & aesthetic improvement, rarification. As our motto says: “You can buy anything…except good taste.”
This little tea caddy is simply the best of its class (meaning for the year, period, style, and form: do not compare late 19th to early 20th, etc.), and that’s why I had to have it.
One sees many of these, but not like this. Until you’ve felt those high ridges on the whiskers of this flying dragon - so virile & potent in his mystical malevolence - you don’t know what true greatness in repoussé, chasing, and tooling…really is...
The moment and the experience is tactile, sexual, and unforgettable. You don’t get these enlightenments from photographs - no matter how high-resolution - and it’s why collectors become who they are, and end-up the stewards of human genius & our highest strivings for all times….eventually (and inevitably), with these objects ending their lives as museum donations.
BUT, without the **BEST TASTE** first, and the best knowledge & experience, the process can never begin - the wings are never given to take flight.
I hereby, give you my wings. Take flight with this masterpiece, and never fear to touch your purchase, enjoy it. The delicate hand of a connoisseur cannot diminish even a masterpiece. Even the most beautiful, sometimes, crave a hand to feel the light of life.
Inanimate, as a Shinto devotee will tell you, does not mean….unalive…
Notes:
~ 5” tall & ~ 4” wide
~ 6 TROY OUNCES
N.B. Antique Asian silver purity is highly variable and will not be estimated.
SOLID SILVER!
*NOT* PLATED
