Occasionally items of silver that appear to be of Chinese manufacture are incorrectly ascribed to mainland China. Chinese communities across Southeast Asia had
silversmiths and silver-smithing guilds. They tended to make items for the local community. Sometimes these items are identifiably Southeast Asian in form but with
obviously Chinese motifs. Other times, the form and motifs are similar to pieces made in Shanghai and southern China. This has lead to confusion whereby extant
examples of Chinese silver by a maker who is "otherwise unknown" being described as being from Canton or Hong Kong.

Sometimes items bearing the Chinese mark of 'Da Xing' turns up. The literature in the field of Chinese export silver talks of this maker as"Unknown" and known only
by one or two pieces. In fact, Da Xing was 19th century maker with branches in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and largely serviced the local
peranakan Chinese communities.

Many pieces of overtly Chinese silver that are of exceptional quality were produced in Bangkok by Thai-Chinese silversmiths. To complicate matters several
Bangkok firms called themselves names like 'the Shanghai silver company' or simply 'Shanghai silver' for it was felt that Shanghai as a brand stood for quality. But
today, collectors and some authors correctly read the Chinese ideograms stamped on such pieces but then erroneously assume that the pieces must have been
made in Shanghai.

The catalogue The Chait Collection of Chinese Silver (J.D. Kernan, 1985) which has become one of the main sources in the relevant literature on Chinese export
silver includes a silver tray on page 66 which is attributed to 'Hui Yuan'. The catalogue describes Hui Yuan's location as unknown but presumably in China and
describes the piece as a 'bottle stand'. It is in fact a tray made by Thai Chinese silversmiths almost certain in Bangkok and is a tray used for offerings and as a rest
for a matching silver bowl.

Similarly silver produced in Vietnam by local Chinese silversmiths sometimes turns up as Chinese export silver. And silversmiths in India took to copying the Chinese
style - partly because India was an important destination for Chinese export silver - so that sometimes Indian silver is confused with Chinese.
Superb Gold Earrings & Brooch Set by Leeching with Original Ivory Presentation Box
Guangdong/Canton, China
circa 1850
Inventory no.: 31
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Chinese Export Silver Open-work Bowl by Luen Wo
Shanghai, China
circa 1890
Inventory no.: 802
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Rare Pair of Chinese Export Silver Candle Sticks by Sing Fat
Hong Kong & Guangdong, China
circa 1910
Inventory no.: 770
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Small Chinese Export
Silver Engraved Buckle
China
circa 1920
Inventory no.: 771
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Other Chinese Silver
Chinese Export Silver Standing Cup & Cover by Khecheong
Guangdong, China
circa 1850
Inventory no.: 768
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Export Chinese Silver Lidded &
Lobed Box by Da Ji
probably Guangdong, China
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 774
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Silver Monk's Cap Duomu Ewer marked 'Zhu Wen'
China/Tibet
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 752
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Three Southeast Asian Chinese Silver Buckles
Malaysia/Singapore
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 646
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Five Straits Chinese Chased Silver Cups
Straits Settlements
19th century
Inventory no.: 644
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Chinese Export Silver Snuff Box, probably by Leeching
Guangdong/Hong Kong
circa 1850
Inventory no.: 772
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Sino-Tibetan or Sino-Mongolian Silver Covered Kalasha Vase
China or Tibet
19th century or earlier
Inventory no.: 35
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Silver Gilt Filigree Necklace by 'Gothic K'
China (probably Guangdong)
circa 1825-1875
Inventory no.: 821
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Tall Parcel-Gilt Chiselled & Chased Silver Sprinkler - ‘Gothic K’ maker
China
circa 1840
weight: 469g
Inventory no.: 933
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Silver Rosewater Sprinkler
China
circa 1820
weight: 513g
Inventory no.: 956
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