Code: 10165
Dimensions:
Chinese export silver (see Blog) covered glass scent bottle made we believe by Hung Chong & Co, Shanghai towards the end of the Qing Dynasty in the early part of the 20th-century. The chased silver cagework is pierced and chased and decorated with Chinese dragons amidst clouds, the glass is star cut on the base, the silver is marked underneath HC together with a symbol which we have been unable to identify, the bottle is missing a stopper.
In Chinese culture, the dragon (Loong) symbolises power, strength, good fortune, and imperial authority, unlike in the West where dragons are seen as baddies; they are benevolent, linked to water, rain, wisdom, and are revered as bringers of prosperity, often appearing in the zodiac as a symbol of confidence, ambition, and success for those born in its year.
Hung Chong & Co was a prominent Chinese silversmith and retailer, based in Shanghai and operating between 1830 and 1925. The company remains one of the most important silversmiths on the Chinese export market, their output was synonymous with opulence, exquisiteness and elegance. Silverware by Hung Chong & Co is in high demand: most rare pieces are sought by private collectors; many pieces are held in prominent musuems.
