Luen Wo of Shanghai Silver Page Turner & Namecard Holder

Posted: October 13th, 2022 | No Comments »

Referring back to previous posts on Shanghai silvesmithing – here on Tuck Chang and here on Zeewo (Zee Wo), I have also mentioned Luen Wo, also a Shanghai based decorative silversmith producing for the local tourist and foreign market. Below a lovely early 20th century silver page turner with a relief handle with large chrysanthemum flowers and leaves, while the blade has an engraved dragon to one side and Chinese characters to the other (the whole thing being 25 cm long, 109 grams)…

Luen Wo was one of the bigger silversmiths in the city and also traded in jewellery, diamonds and embroideries. The major designer for the company was Ning Zhao Ji whose work is usually accompanied by the mark “LW”. Luen Wo started earlier than many other Shanghai silversmiths (and like many others probably moved to the city from Guangzhou), around 1880, and also actively targeted the South East Asian Chinese disapora market with items decartaed to particularly appeal to the Peranakan community of the Malay States and Singapore at the time.

I am particularly taken with this silver namecard case (below) embossed with scenes of figures in landscapes with bamboo palm building and similar deisgn on the reverse.

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

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