19th century
The tray is of rectangular form with a pierced gallery resting on four lobed ball feet. It is chased with a winter landscape with the well known scene of 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage' showing three figures approaching a house and a servant waiting at the gate door. In the garden we see a figure clad in official robes seated at a long table playing the qin. On the base the mark WH'90' and the characters qiu ji 求記.
16.3x11.3 cm
Wang Hing & Co are one of the most famous Chinese export silver makers in the world. This reputation is also due to the belief that they supplied Tiffany & Co directly with Chinese export silver,
The famous scene 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage' from the 'Novel of the Three Kingdoms' written in the 14th century tells the story of the warlord Liu Bei accompanied by his two loyal generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei when they are trying to visit the war strategist Zhu Geliang for the third time after two earlier unsuccessful attempts to meet him. Liu Bei was a benevolent humane warlord who was defeated by the cruel Cao Cao. He was seeking help from the war strategist Zhu Geliang who had been living as a recluse in his cottage in the country after the fall of the Han dynasty. At his third visit Liu Bei finally managed to meet Zhu Geliang in person and succeeded in convincing him to assist him in the war. With the help of Zhu Geliang, who devised shrewd strategies, Liu Bei successfully enlarged his territory and founded his own kingdom, the Shu-Han State (221-263) In this way the Period of the Three Kingdoms, San Guo, started and lasted until the reunion of China in 280.
WF 72 十九世紀 「三顧茅廬」鏤花銀托盤
時代：19世紀。
特徵：矩形盤面上精緻描刻十四世紀歷史小說《三國演義》中著名的「三顧茅廬」一景：左側三人為劉備、關羽與張飛，他們逐漸走近有一名侍僕在外等候的屋舍，右側花園裡彈琴者應為諸葛亮。底部刻款「WH'90'」(著名的中國出口銀器製造商) 與「求記」。
尺寸：16.3 x 11.3 公分。
