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Silver Cane Top Overlaid with Gold, signed 'Vinh - Sa Dec'
Sa Dec, Vietnam
circa 1910
height: 8cm; diameter at widest point: 3.2cm; weight: 45g
This unusual and exceptionally fine cane top is of chased silver overlaid in part with gold. It shows various forest animals including deer, a peacock, butterflies
and smaller birds with rocks, coniferous foliage, bamboo, large-headed chrysanthemums and other plants, all against a finely tooled background. The lower
frieze comprises scrolling foliage and flowers. The top is finely chased with a laurel of leaves and flowers. This and the other details are overlaid with
high-carat gold.
The piece has a maker's mark - 'Vinh - Sa Dec'. 'Vinh' is a male middle name which in Vietnamese means 'bay' or 'gulf'. And Sa Dec is a city in the Mekong
Delta area of southern Vietnam. Traditionally it has had a mixed Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese population. Most likely this cane top is the product of a
Sino-Vietnamese craftsman.
The French writer Marguerite Duras lived in Sa Dec during the 1920 whilst a teenage. She and Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a wealthy Chinese family, became
lovers and their affair was the basis for Duras' 1984 Prix Goncourt-winning novel, The Lover.
Inventory no.: 854
This Item is available - Ask about this item
Silver Cane Top Overlaid with Gold, signed 'Vinh - Sa Dec'
Sa Dec, Vietnam
circa 1910
height: 8cm; diameter at widest point: 3.2cm; weight: 45g
This unusual and exceptionally fine cane top is of chased silver overlaid in part with gold. It shows various forest animals including deer, a peacock, butterflies
and smaller birds with rocks, coniferous foliage, bamboo, large-headed chrysanthemums and other plants, all against a finely tooled background. The lower
frieze comprises scrolling foliage and flowers. The top is finely chased with a laurel of leaves and flowers. This and the other details are overlaid with
high-carat gold.
The piece has a maker's mark - 'Vinh - Sa Dec'. 'Vinh' is a male middle name which in Vietnamese means 'bay' or 'gulf'. And Sa Dec is a city in the Mekong
Delta area of southern Vietnam. Traditionally it has had a mixed Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese population. Most likely this cane top is the product of a
Sino-Vietnamese craftsman.
The French writer Marguerite Duras lived in Sa Dec during the 1920 whilst a teenage. She and Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a wealthy Chinese family, became
lovers and their affair was the basis for Duras' 1984 Prix Goncourt-winning novel, The Lover.
Inventory no.: 854
This Item is available - Ask about this item
