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HI ALL

I have this decorative Asian silver vase, it measures 6 inches tall & has a floral theme, one side is full of characters, what does it say?

The hallmark is rubbed but perhaps someone can identify what it says.

MANY THANKS.

Still nothing?

“Still nothing?”--yes, yes, I know just how you feel, that is what I have often said to myself, as have so many other Forum users. Of the small handful of queries I have posted during my time on the Forum, half have been answered with breathtaking speed, and the other half have sunk down the list of posts and seemingly been forgotten as months have turned into years. For example, despite the very easily read marks in this post, two years on, still it has generated nothing, no response at all:

http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 57&t=28087

And even after the same marks appeared in a second post, they still have not been positively identified:

http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 57&t=36129

I have faith, though, that eventually another silver enthusiast and researcher will find this mark and solve the riddle, and so I wait.

Turning to this vase, obviously it is Chinese, but the marks are either too poorly struck, too rubbed, or too poorly photographed--or some combination thereof--for my tired old eyes to try to pick them apart and see what they say. It would be a different matter altogether to actually examine the piece and see the marks with the naked eye, which is why an appraiser’s services are always a good option when an ID is needed right away for such time-sensitive matters as estate purposes. With patience, a CES collector may come along who has handled an object with the very same marks, perhaps more clearly struck, and provide the answer.

As for the lengthy inscription on the body of the vase, if you truly need a translation of it, that might fall outside the bailiwick of an appraiser, so why not take the vase to a professional translator who can spend the necessary time examining, transcribing, and translating it?

Good luck!

DR

Just came across this thread. Agree with David that this vase is Chinese.

The engraved inscription on the first photo shows the names of the donors, nine of them together, and at the bottom "敬贈" meaning presenting with respect.

As for the mark, while the top characters were partly rubbed off and illegible to me, the second and third characters can be identified as "慶雲", which is one of the nine famous silver workshops in Shanghai. The last character "培" is probably the name of one of its sub-branches.

Hope this helps.

FTJJ

Thanks David & FT for your great help & input.

A couple of questions, is the inscription dated? Google translates the maker as Qingyun is that correct? Is it the same Tu Qingyun as mentioned here? http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 124#p82124

As David observed the marks were poorly struck & as they are on the bottom were further rubbed but I've given it a clean & tried photographing from different angles.

The new photos are very useful. The top characters are much more visible now and they appear to me "濟南" Jinan, a city in Shangdong province. This makes sense as the top characters are traditionally the location of the silversmith. And in this case, it is more likely a Qing Yun located in Jinan instead of Shanghai.

Don’t think the mark is Tu Qing Yun which traded in Jiu Jiang, Jiangxi province.

The inscription was not dated.

FTJJ

The top two characters are "濟南" (Jinan, the capital city of Shangdong Province) from right to left, without any doubt.

But aren't there 3 characters below that? It's "慶雲培" (Qing Yun Pei) instead of "慶雲" (Qing Yun). I tried to do some research for "Qing Yun Pei" but got nothing on both Baidu and Google. If there was a silversmith called this name, it should have left some trace... Could it just be a person's name?

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