Expert: Martin G Roberts - 7/29/2006

Question
I have purchased what was presented as an antique Chinese pewter tea pot. It has Chinese characters stamped/embossed on the bottom. The base of the pot is 5" high or less, there are 7 sections, each one with a window portraying a Chinese scene. The scenes are covered in a thick plastic (by today's standards) the plastic dates it,(to us), at around the 50's or 60's. I can send a photo if you'd like. Elongated  hour glass shaped neck into which the hot water is poured. The spout sweeps up from the base to a level equivelent with the top of the neck and the space between is bridged by a classic Chinese dragon. How do I read the stamp on the bottowm? How old might this be? and if you don't know, can you direct me to someone who might know? How was this used? and under what circumstance was it used?

Answer
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Sorry, cannot help - my field is mainly British pewter. There are Chinese pewter teapots of antique date, but this is modern (i.e. less than 100 yrs old), so outside my period too. And no, I don't know anyone on the internet who could help.

I should have thought anyone able to read Chinese script could translate the marks.