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Silver Figures of Eight Immortals Yangqinghe Jiuji Marks, Late Qing Dynasty

About the Item

Important and rare silver figures of eight immortals Yangqinghe Jiuji marks, Late Qing dynasty. Each hollow figure portraying one of the immortals in an animated pose, with highly detailed facial features, four pierced with apertures for the insertion of facial hair, clad in finely chased robes, all but two with their characteristic attributes, their bases bearing either two seal marks reading Yangqinghe Jiuji gongyibu and Zhe'ning Hu Qiusheng zao, or three marks in regular script reading Yangqinghe Jiuji gongyibu, Shang and Sheng zuo, original hand-carved wood stands. Measures: 11 1/4in (28.5cm) high (tallest one). The earliest records of the silver atelier known as Yangqinghe date to 1775 in Shanghai. By the end of the Qing dynasty, it had the reputation as being the best silver workshop on the Shanghai Bund. Not only did they make decorative items, but also accessories and jewelry, popular among the Shanghai elite. After 1850, the atelier divided into three separate branches, Jiuji, Faji and Fuji, and passed to the ownership of Shao Youlian's family. Shao was a statesman who had served as the Qing court's charge d'affaires at St. Petersburg, had been a past governor of Taiwan and acting governor of Hunan. After his death in 1901, his family did not immediately divide up his estate, but his second son Shao Heng, gradually assumed ownership of the Jiuji branch of Yangqinghe. Shao Heng was known as a spendthrift and tended to neglect the business. Jiuji eventually ceased operation in 1935. The bases of the some of the figures in the present lot are marked with the seal of the atelier's decorative art division, gongyibu, and also bear the mark of the individual maker, Hu Qiusheng. Figures of the eight immortal are popular decorative motifs because it is believed that they can bestow blessings. They represent the spectrum of the human condition - young and old, rich and poor, civil and military, learned and uncultivated, male and female.

Creator:
Yangqinghe Jiuji (Metalworker)
Dimensions:
Height: 11.25 in (28.58 cm)Diameter: 4 in (10.16 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 8
Style:
Chinese Export (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Silver,Wood,Cast,Hand-Carved
Place of Origin:
China
Period:
1890-1899
Date of Manufacture:
1890
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU919512027213
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