An early 20^th century Chinese Export silver belt, Hong Kong circa 1900 retailed by Cum Wo

Qing dynasty, of segmented form comprising seventeen panels of alternating circular and elongated octagonal form, attached by loops. The circular panels with embossed decoration of various floral sprays, two with characters, the elongated octagonal panels of various men riding different animals; Elephant, Stag, Pig, Ox, Horse, Lion. The central panel with an embossed river scene of houses and trees and a man fishing in a boat. Marked to clasp with CW and artisan mark RUI JI 瑞記.

Length – 71.5 cm / 28.25 inches

Weight – 153 grams / 4.92 ozt

Provenance: Thomas Child (1841-1898) and his family, thence by descent.

An English photographer and engineer best known for his pioneering photography work in China. Child produced a large body of photographs during his time in Beijing in the 1870s and 1880s, a time when virtually no other photographers operated in the city. During the two decades he spent in China, Child compiled the earliest comprehensive photographic catalogue of the customs, architecture, and people of late Qing dynasty Beijing.

Child returned to England in 1889 with his family, except for his eldest son Alfred, also employed with the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, who stayed behind in Beijing as his father's successor. Child formally retired from the Customs service the following year.