Chinese Silver Stemmed Goblet With A Unique Inscription & Dedication to the Rabbinical Seminary of Paris. Shanghai ...

Chinese Silver Stemmed Goblet With A Unique Inscription & Dedication to the Rabbinical Seminary of Paris. Shanghai [late 19th century/early 20th century]

This is an unusual goblet created originally in Shanghai for the renowned retail silversmith WO SHING 盛和 [mandarin HE SHENG] by the Shanghai artisan workshop ZAN JI 賛記.

The goblet dates circa late 19th/early 20th century, but it carries an unusual inscription that indicates it was added later; "à l’École rabbinique par Mr Marx Sennet en mémoire de son fils Robert – 1933" [“To the Rabbinical Seminary in Paris, by Marx Sennet, in memory of his son Robert. 1933”.

Anne and Marx Sennet owned and operated, together with Marx’s elder brother, Moshe [Moise], the firm of Sennet Frères in Hong Kong and Shanghai, or LIWEI YANGHANG 利威洋行 [The Levy Business]; previously known as LEVY HERMANOS which was founded and run by the four Levy brothers originally in Manila, the brothers being originally from Alsace-Lorraine.

Sennet Frères was situated at 38 Nanking Road in Shanghai, literally around the corner from the retail firm of Wo Shing, so it would have been a natural collaboration in the matter of silver wares; Sennet Frères’ core business was luxury watches and clocks - later in the 20th century it went on to establish itself in Tianjin and Peking [Beijing].

The inscription on the goblet in memory of Robert Sennet relates to his having been killed while in combat in the French Army in WW1 in 1918 at the age of 20. The date of the inscribed dedication on the goblet, 1933, is shortly after the Sennet family had re-established themselves back in France in Paris.

The goblet has a plain polished cup with a single repoussé dragon motif, supported by three naturalistic bamboo stems. The center ground of the circular form base is formed of a dome decorated with a repoussé stylised root system of the bamboo; a traditional Chinese motif in of itself emphasizing the symbolism of bamboo - its ability to bend without breaking being a desirable virtue of a gentleman [junzi 君子 lit: “son of a lord”], someone who acts with morals, a sturdy and upright man.

14.5 cm (height), 6.9 cm. (diam). 161 gr.

Our thanks to Dr. Adrien von Ferscht for generously sharing his time and expertise with us.