Chinese export silver cigar case c.1930, repousse with 3 clawed dragon design set against highly polished background. Weight 80gm, length 13.5cm, width 7cm. Fantastic example of the 3 cigar case typical of the art deco period in Shanghai, similar to that carried by 1920's Shanghai mob boss "Big-Eared Du" as exhibited at the Mansion House Museum in Shanghai

Du Yuesheng (22 August 1888 – 16 August 1951) nicknamed "Big-Eared Du" was a Chinese mob boss leader of the Green Gang. Du dominated Shanghai's opium and heroin trade in the 1930s, and secretly funded the political career of Chiang Kai-shek. As a reward for eliminating Communists in Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Big Eared Du the President of the National Opium Suppression Board, officially gaving Du control over the entire country's opium supply. After the Chinese Civil War and the Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan, Du went into exile in Hong Kong and remained there until his death in 1951.