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.
Small Chinese Export Silver Engraved Buckle
China
circa 1920
Inventory no.: 771
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Other Chinese Silver
Five Straits Chinese Chased Silver Cups
Straits Settlements
19th century
Inventory no.: 644
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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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These Items are available - Ask about an item
Tall Parcel-Gilt Chiselled & Chased Silver Sprinkler - ‘Gothic K’ maker
China
circa 1840
weight: 469g
Inventory no.: 933
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Silver-gilt Filigree Casket
Batavia or possibly China
circa 1750
Inventory no.: 1117
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Parasol Handle Chased with a Dragon
China
19th century
Inventory no.: 1126
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Unusual Silver Goblet by Wang Hing
Guangdong/Hong Kong, China
late 19th century
Inventory no.: 1136
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Chased Silver Rosewater Sprinkler for the Indian Market
China
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 1156
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Open-work Silver Dish with Bamboo-Design Handle
China
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 1157
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Four Piece Silver Chinese Export Tea & Coffee Service by Khecheong
China
circa 1840
Inventory no.: 1166
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Repoussed & Chased Silver Box
China or Vietnam
early 20th century
Inventory no.: 1357
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From where do we source our items? We do not go on buying trips to Asia. Nor do we actively buy from dealers or suppliers based in Asia. We do not source
items from China itself for example. Almost all the items stocked by Michael Backman Ltd have been sourced from the UK - from old collections. Countless items
were brought to the UK during the colonial era by colonial administrators and the like. Other items were made in Asia for export to the UK – the UK was wealthy
early: it has been a major destination for the world’s exports for hundreds of years.  This means that most of our items have been in the UK for at least sixty to two
hundred years.
The conditions in which they have been kept often has been very good – the climate is kind, and there are relatively few pests. Many items were acquired as
keepsakes and curios, meaning that they stopped being used once they came to the UK. This too has helped to preserve them and their conditions often are far
better than had they remained in their home countries. Buying from old UK sources means that the items have good provenance; it helps to avoid fakes, and items
that have been amended or embellished. It also means that our items are obtained legally – today, most countries in Asia prohibit the export of their antiques. So,
because of its colonial past, the UK is perhaps the world’s biggest source of genuine antiques from Asia, perhaps more so than Asia itself, and that is the source
into which we tap.
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Pair of Silver-Gilt Filigree Rosewater Sprinklers
China or Batavia
late 18th century
Provenance: Duke of Portland, KG, GCVO (Welbeck Abbey)
Inventory no.: 1542
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