Tuck Chang Silverware of Shanghai

Posted: August 27th, 2022 | No Comments »

Ornate silversmithing is a craft that once proliferated in Shanghai but has all but disappeared a long time past now. Perhaps the best known local silversmith of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century was Tuck Chang, sometimes referred to as the ‘Wang Hing of Shanghai’ (Wang Hing was a notable silversmith and antiques dealer in Canton/Guangzhou earlier on) and often marked “TC”. The firm was in operation from roughly 1890 to 1915. Though other silversmiths existed at the same time, such as Luen Wo, Yat Sen, Sing Fat (mostly run by Cantonese craftsman and merchants who had moved to Shanghai after learning the trade in Canton) and others, TC was the best known among the foreign community.

Tuck Chang employed a team of silversmiths catering mostly to the Shanghailander and tourist trade with silver trophies, tea sets and high quality gift items (such as the silver spoon and box pictured below). The company was Chinese but being based in Shanghai was very aware of European trends and tastes incorporating elements of the Beaux Arts, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau styles, though often combining these with Chinese traditional motifs – classic Shanghai hai-pai brought to silversmithing.

Some examples of Tuck Chang’s work below (the internet will yield many dozens of examples)…

(there are two other posts on Shanghai silversmiths that may interest readers – on Zeewo here and on Luen Wo here)