Lot 163 , A Russian silver presentation silver teapot and matching sugar pot, sifting spoon and tongs, c.1900, but presented in 1925

A Russian silver presentation silver teapot and matching sugar pot, sifting spoon and tongs, c.1900, but presented in 1925, each piece engraved with birds and foliage on a satin ground, maker’s mark BF in Cyrillic, with mother of pearl mounted finial and insulators, the sugar pot and cover with presentation inscription ‘the kind remembrance to RFC Hedgeland commissioner from the outdoor staff Aigun Customs (with the names of the staff) Taheiho 16-10-25’, teapot height 13.5cm

Taheiho (modern-day Heihe) was a significant city in North Manchuria (Northeast China) situated on the right bank of the Amur River, directly opposite the Soviet Russian city of Blagoveshchensk. During the early 20th century, especially the 1920s and 1930s, it served as a vital border town, administrative post, and military checkpoint during the Sino-Russian border disputes and the Japanese invasion.

see University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: He02-044. Photo from an album (UoB reference He01) kept in the School of Oriental and African Studies Archives, London (SOAS reference PP MS 82/15). Titled ‘Opening of Russian Consulate at Taheiho, North Manchuria. 1924. Taoyin Sung Russian Consul Gen Pa R.F.C.H.’

Provenance -
Reginald Hedgeland (1874-1967); thence by family descent.
All the objects in the collection were presented to Chinese Maritime Customs Commissioner Reginald Hedgeland, and date from around 1900 to 1927.
His papers and photographs are deposited in Archives & Special Collections, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A few of the items of silver and silk banners to be offered by Gorringe's are illustrated in the Reginald Hedgeland photograph archive held at SOAS, University London. The SOAS library site includes the following biography- 
Reginald Follett Codrington Hedgeland was born in Exeter, Devon on 18 December 1874. He joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in May 1898, having graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford, the previous year. Hedgeland was one of many foreigners from Europe and America who made up the higher levels of the Customs Service, which was controlled by central Chinese government. Originally established by foreign consuls to collect maritime taxes during the Taiping Rebellion in 1854, it expanded to include other functions such as domestic customs, postal services, and waterway and harbour management, and it was involved in politics and diplomacy. Hedgeland’s long career in China, which saw him retire with the rank of Commissioner in 1930, took him to many ports. His first posting was to Hoihow [Haikou], a port on the mouth of the Nandu River on the island of Hainan in the south. Later posts included Nanking [Nanjing], Tientsin [Tainjin], Macau, Hong Kong, Nanning, Aigun, Swatow [Shantou] and Canton [Guangzhou]. Many of Hedgeland’s postings were to remote ports such as Nanning or Aigun, where the foreign social circles would have been confined and social opportunities limited. His photographs of the club house and golf course in Nanning show the somewhat improvised nature of the entertainment available there. Hedgeland’s archive documents an experience of the Customs Service far removed from the foreign experience of Shanghai, Hong Kong or Peking [Beijing]. The silver vessels presented to him by local Chinese Customs officials are finely engraved with inscriptions in Mandarin and English.
£400-600

Condition:
There are two small dents to the teapot, otherwise in good condition. Gross weight 577 g.

Sold for £940