Chinese Export Silver Jug circa 1845. Of classic European shape with embossed and chased grape and vine to body and base, and acanthus leaf stem. There is a hinged lid with classic-form finial, a fluted handle, and traces of gilding to the interior.
Retailed by LEE CHING (利升Li Sheng), an important retailer in Canton who began in the 1840s and expanded to sell in Hong Kong in around 1880. Leeching was one of the most important retailers in Canton after the 1st Opium War, and were known for supplying very fine pieces. The silversmith mark is 黄培 (Huang Pei) about whom there is little known.
