Can Anyone Identify This Chinese Pewter Piece?

Hello,

My grandfather brought this back from China before I was born (1960). I have no idea what it is or what the marks on the bottom mean. Any help greatly appreciated!

 

The marks are just makers marks. Nice box, not sure of use, bend the foot corner back into shape!

 

Nice jade handle, I think shaped as a ruyi scepter.

 

Yeah. I know they’re maker’s marks, but I want to know which ones.

And, I’ll look into bending that corner back into shape!

 

Thank you. I’ll look that up!

 

Chinese marks are rarely company names,but maybe @Couch Potato Wannabe can translate.

 

True, but in the case of pewter wares they almost always ARE.

 

Well, I can read the outer four characters but the inner ones I'd probably need a better lit photo which shows the contrast of the characters there a bit more. The outer four characters are about the metal content of the product.


It does not look like pewter to me, it appear to be tin.

Tin ware with a tin content of more than 70%, the words "净点 = clean copper" or "净点包用 clean copper package use" are the outer marks. "clean copper" is to strengthen the strength of tin, and a small amount of copper is used. It is marked "clean copper" mean that the company does not use shoddy lead, brittle lead, etc. As for "package use", It means "all-you-can-use", usable for everything.

If you wish, you could perform a lead test on the metal to see if there is lead present. As for the rest of the characters, I'd need a photo which is a bit more of a close up shot, very sharp focus and with a bit of side lighting to help highlight the edges of the characters for better identification.

 

Sounds like a variety of pewter

 

As already suggested, pewter is primarily tin, alloyed with a small percentage of other metals...

~Cheryl

 

Thanks for the information. I’m uploading better photos, or what I hope are better photos. I was hoping to get a possible date of production.

Can you tell me what this piece is used for?

Again, my deepest thanks!

 

You are of course correct, my bad, the only pewter I've had experience with has always contained lead. I wasn't aware 'pewter' covered an array of variations.

Yay, I get to learn new things...

 

Sorry, but I just can't make out the characters well enough to read it. I'm confident the outer four are as I said them to be, but as for the inner four, it's too hard for me to read them. The centre marks are the manufacturers stamp by the way.

As for its purpose, it's a food warmer.

Here is another example of one such item being offered on eBay at US$1000. Not sure how realistic that price is though. It is listed as made in Qing dynasty which would be sometime between 1644 to 1912.

 

Well thank you very much for your help! I know more now than I did when I started and I appreciate that!

 

I'm glad to be of some help. I wish I could see the item in person, I'd bet I could make it out then. Oh well, all the best with it and do present us with some other goodies when you can.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I’m a very poor photographer and the markings aren’t clear—bad combination! But you clearly offered me more than I had when I started so I’m grateful! I did post another question about what I believe are pre-Colombian tiny figures. I posted in the “Tribal” forum but no one has responded. I’m new so I don’t really have a handle on how I should ask questions.

are you familiar with such items? I know they need to be examined in person for authenticity if they do represent particular areas and items produced therein. But I would like the field narrowed a bit.

 

Here they are. I thought they were all from Peru. However, I’m beginning to think only the tiny metal one is. My father brought them back before 1962, the year of his last trip to Peru.