Chinese export silver - Teapot & Sugar Bowl - help with marks

[silverdollarbill]

Hello,

I recently acquired these two pieces. Unfortunately, the teapot is missing the lid and the handle is broken.

Does anyone recognize these marks? I thought the HC (on sugar bowl) could have been Hung Chong, but his work seems to be of higher quality.

I would assume these are late 1800s / early 1900s.

Curious what everyone thinks and whether or not the marks can be identified.

thank you

I can't figure out how to post images, but here are some links:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nQGm5R ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JREAgz ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JREAgz ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U2R1Ba ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KeItmC ... sp=sharing

[silverdollarbill]

Here is close up pics of teapot:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UemR01 ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I7IsOg ... sp=sharing

[dognose]

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

Please embed your images.

https://postimages.org (choose 'Share', then copy the 'Hotlink for forums' code) is recommended. Do not use Photobucket or Dropbox.

Trev.

[silverdollarbill]

Thanks...here are the images:

[silverdollarbill]

Second mark:

[dognose]

Hi,

The marks look good for Hung Chong & Co. to me.

Trev.

[silverdollarbill]

Thank you Trev! Are you basing this just off the "HC" mark. The "C" looked a bit odd to me. Also, why does the teapot vs sugar bowl have different marks? Any idea what the Chinese says?

thank you bill

[dognose]

No doubt Hung Chong & Co. used many punches during the course of the firm's history, each one would differ slightly and there are many variations noted.

I don't read Chinese, but take a look at the lower portion of the chop mark next to the HC mark and note the first Chinese character at the top of this advertisement:



It may well be that one item was made at one shop and when the owner wanted another or replacement piece, then another shop could provide a perfect match. Chinese silversmiths were very adept at making near perfect copies.

Trev.

[silverdollarbill]

Thanks for the explanation and pointing out the chop mark! I would say the sugar bowl is definitely Hung Kong.

The teapot is nearly identical, but there are some minor differences on the dragon. I can't believe the teapot is missing the lid!

thx bill