Chinese Silver Crane Opium Scraper

This handheld tool is a 19th-century opium scraper, fitted with a curved, spoon-like blade designed to remove debris from the inner walls of a pipe bowl. The metal end is secured to ...

By the 18th century, opium use had become as central to Chinese social life as taking tea or smoking tobacco, fostering a subculture rich with its own customs, traditions, and exquis...

A fine and impressive antique solid Chinese Export Silver cigarette box; an addition to our diverse silver box collection This fine antique Chinese Export Silver (CES) cigarette box has a plain rectangular form with rounded corners. The surface of the body of the box is plain with an applied molded border to the rim. The subtly domed hinged cover of the box is ornamented with the contemporary engraved monograph initials ‘CBK’ in addition to a moulded border to the rim. The hallmarks struck to the underside of this impressive box include: Maker's mark: WH (Wang Hing & Company) Silver quality/purity mark: 90 (900/1000) Character mark: Untraced. Note: The majority of such boxes have a wood lining to the interior to provide strength, due to a poor gauge of silver; a sign of quality when examples are unlined and of solid silver. Condition This antique cigarette box...

This finely crafted piece was made high in the mountains of southeast China, Laos, Thailand and Burma (modern day Myanmar) by an indigenous hill tribe. The Hmong people are know for ...