Chinese Silver & Enamel Filigree Business Card or Card Case

About the Item

Late Qing Dynasty Circa 1910 From our Chinese collection, we are delighted to offer this Chinese Silver & Enamel Card Case. The Card Case of rectangular form cast in Silver with a pierced silver fish scale style pattern around the edge. The front and back decorated with scrolling filigree silver foliage and blossoming flowers on a checkerboard background surrounded by a blue enamel and filigree silver border. The Card Case dates to the late Qing period (1636-1912) during the rule of Xuantong Emperor circa 1910. The card case is an excellent collectors piece but would equally be useable as a luxury business card holder as photographed. Qing Dynasty (officially the Great Qing) was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the later Jin dynasty founded by a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who became known as the Manchus. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Mukden (Shenyang) and following the Battle of Shanhai Pass it seized control of Beijing in 1644, which is often considered the start of the dynasty’s rule in China. Within decades the Qing had consolidated its control over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and by the mid-18th century it had expanded its rule into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the most populous country in the world at the time. See our article The Qing & I. Filigree is a delicate ornamental detail woven with strips of silver, gold, or other metals, often to create a pattern or decoration. Enamel (vitreous enamel) also known as porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word vitreous comes from the Latin vitreus, meaning “glassy”. Measurements (Centimetres) 10.5cm High x 7cm Wide x 1.5cm Deep

Dimensions:

Height: 4.13 in (10.5 cm)Width: 2.76 in (7.02 cm)Depth: 0.59 in (1.5 cm)

Style:

Qing (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Enamel,Silver,Enameled,Inlay

Place of Origin:

China

Period:

Early 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

Circa 1910