Chinese export silver cup, Boxer Rebellion, 43.93 ozt
6" diameter x 6"H.

Davids notes:The cup Chinese writing translates to 'Guangxi July 26 1900'(this is when they broke through Beijing, Tianjing, etc.The makers mark on the bottom is Lao Tian Ji.

A unique handmade Chinese Export piece celebrating the victories of the Boxer Rebellion, the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement. This movement was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901 towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Militia United in Righteousness (Yihequan), known as the Boxers in English because many of its members had practiced Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as Chinese Boxing.

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 villagers in North China feared the expansion of foreign spheres of influence and resented the extension of privileges to Christian missionaries, who used them to support their followers. In 1898, Northern China experienced several natural disasters, including the Yellow River flooding and droughts. Boxers blamed these disasters on foreign and Christian influence. Beginning in 1899, Boxers spread violence across Shandong and the North China Plain, destroying foreign property, attacking or murdering Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians. The events came to a head in June, 1900, when Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing with the slogan "Support the Qing government and exterminate the foreigners." Diplomats, missionaries, soldiers and some Chinese Christians took refuge in the diplomatic Legation Quarter and were besieged for 55 days by the Imperial Army of China and the Boxers.An Eight Nation Alliance of American, Austro-Hungarian, British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian troops moved into China to lift the siege and rescue stranded civilians. The Empress Dowager Cixi, who had initially been hesitant, now supported the Boxers and on June 21, issued an Imperial Decree declaring war on the invading powers. Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu (Junglu), later claimed he acted to protect the foreigners. Officials in the southern provinces ignored the imperial order to fight against foreigners.

The Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back by the Imperial Chinese military and Boxer militia, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army in Tianjin, and arrived in Beijing on August 14, relieving the siege of the Legations. Plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with summary execution of those suspected of being Boxers in retribution. The Boxer Protocol of September 7, 1901, provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and 450 million taels of silver—approximately $10 billion at 2018 silver prices and more than the government's annual tax revenue—to be paid as indemnity over the course of the next 39 years to the eight nations involved. The Qing dynasty's handling of the Boxer Rebellion further weakened their control over China, and led the dynasty to attempt major governmental reforms in the aftermath.

Good condition overall