Small Silver Cup

Object/Artifact

New Museum Los Gatos

Name/Title

Small Silver Cup

Entry/Object ID

2011.402.1

Description

Small silver cup, with a flower and leaf pattern, a butterfly, and two Chinese characters on the face. The base has a swirling pattern.

Collection

Rankin Collection

Cataloged By

registrar@numulosgatos.org

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Luen Wo

Role

Metal Smith

Date made

circa 1900

Place

Region

East Asia

Continent

Asia

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Makers Mark

Location

Bottom of the base, along the edge

Transcription

[Chinese characters]

Language

Chinese

Material/Technique

Etched

Type

Inscription

Location

Side of cup

Transcription

[Chinese characters]

Language

Chinese

Translation

Beautiful Long Life

Material/Technique

Etched

Notes

Translation courtesy of a guest on Cheryl's 9/16/2022 tour.

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Cup

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Drinking Vessels

Nomenclature Class

Food Service T&E

Nomenclature Category

Category 04: Tools & Equipment for Materials

Dimensions

Height

3-5/8 in

Width

1-3/4 in

Dimension Notes

Width measurement is for the top of the cup.

Materials

Material

Metal

Material Notes

Silver

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Lochie Rankin

Notes

Owner

Person or Organization

Luen Wo

Notes

Maker

Person or Organization

Dora Rankin

Notes

Donor

Exhibitions

The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories - Phase 1

The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories - Phase 2

Interpretative Labels

Label

SILVER Date: ca. 1900 / This silver was made by Luen Wo, one of the leading silversmiths in Shanghai in the late 19th and 20th centuries. All of the pieces in the are stamped with Luen Wo's makers mark. Wo operated from various premises in Nanking Road (Nanjing Road) in Shanghai in the late nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth century. His firm was prolific and also traded other items such as diamonds, jewelry, and embroideries. / This silver once belonged to one-time Los Gatos resident Lochie Rankin, the first unmarried woman missionary to China. Rankin was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on January 20, 1851 before moving to Milan, Tennessee with her parents and sister in. In 1876, at age 25, she volunteered to teach at The Indian Mission Schools in Oklahoma before joining the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the United Episcopal Methodist Church South (UEMCS) in 1878. She moved to China and was trained by the wife of a missionary at the Clopton Boarding School in Shanghai. Upon completing her training in 1879 Rankin's sister Dorie joined her in China and they moved to Nanxiang to open a girl's school. After her sister's death in 1885, Rankin moved to Huchow, China in 1909 to open a boy's school before retiring to Tennessee in 1926. She died and was buried in Nashville on September 14, 1929.