Offered in this lot is this Chinese Qing Dynasty Silver Ingot, circa late 19th century. Provenance: the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection. Owen David Mort was an American engineer who amassed an impressive collection throughout his worldwide travels. His collection has included art, artifacts and other historical items from which he has donated to museums at the University of Utah and Snite Museum of Art, the University of Notre Dame, including African, Afghan, Indian, Mughal, Persian and Far East Asian art and artifacts. Known as sycee or yuanbao was a type of silver ingot currency used in imperial Chinese from its founding under the Qin dynasty until the fall of the Qing in the 20th century. Sycee were not made by a central bank or mint but by individual goldsmiths or silversmiths for local exchange; consequently, the shape and amount of extra detail on each ingot were highly variable. Square and oval shapes were common, but boat, flower, tortoise and others are known. Their value, like the value of the various silver coins and little pieces of silver in circulation at the end of the Qing dynasty, was determined by experienced moneyhandlers, who estimated the appropriate discount based on the purity of the silver and evaluated the weight in taels. Sycees remained in use until the end of the Qing dynasty. This silver ingot has Chinese seal characters stamped on the face, the backside features an engraved dragon breathing out fire with floral detailing. One side of the ingot has "100.1" inscribed twice. Measures 2.5"L x .5"W x .5"D, weight approximate 100.1 grams.