A Chinese Export Silver Jardiniere (rectangular dish), pierced differently on all four sides with a figural scene, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and two dragons separated by a flaming-pearl cartouche. The dish is supported by four dragons each with their head supported on the pierced bamboo gallery, and sits on an original openwork and beaded edge wood stand.
Marked with HC for Hung Chong, '鸿昌' and with a maker's mark of '仁記' （Ren Ji). Hung Chong began supplying silverware to Westerners in Canton in the 1850s and was one of the first Cantonese silver retailers in Shanghai from around 1870, staying there until 1949. This splendid jardiniere is from Shanghai circa 1880.
