Vietnamese Tall, Silver Vase, possibly for Straits Chinese Market

This tall, elegant vase of high-grade silver ostensible appears to be of mainland Chinese origin, but more likely is the product of Chinese silversmiths working in Vietnam. They produced silver for the local market but also for the export market, most particularly for the Straits Chinese market of Singapore.

The vase has a tapering form and narrows to a thin neck and then widens again to an edged mouth. The sides are chased beautifully with four long panels each showing a chrysanthemum shrub with multiple blooms. These panels are separated by leafy scrollwork. Above these are four cartouches, each chased with lotus flowers and leaves in a naturalistic manner. These are separated by fine, ‘basket-weave’ backgrounds. The neck is chased with more chrysanthemum sprays.

The base is stamped ‘Da Xing’ (‘Ta Hing’). Items of silver used by the Peranakan, Baba/Nonya or Straits Chinese communities of Singapore, Malacca and Penang often are stamped with ‘Da Xing’ – either a maker or a retailer. The range of items with such a stamp suggests that several outlets/makers in Southeast Asia used this name and that it does not refer to a single maker despite such a claim in the early literature on Straits Chinese silver.

Vietnamese silver found its way to the Straits Chinese community in Singapore where today examples exist in local museums and private collections where, often it is erroneously assumed to be the work of local silversmiths. Examples are illustrated in Khoo (1996, p. 234-235), which are likely to be the product of Vietnamese, rather than local silversmiths. The commercial links between Singapore and Vietnam were extensive and often based on the rice trade.

A thriving community of silversmiths emerged in Hanoi in the early 2oth century. Their clientele comprised both French colonial administrators, affluent Vietnamese, and export markets. Flower vases such as this example would have appealed to all these markets.

This example is particularly large and refined. It is in excellent condition.