what was this Chinese piece of silver used for

[kinza-willi]

 what is the name for this piece of silver and what would it have been used for.  bill

[sonomabarn67]

You should always give dimensions. Are there Chinese silver marks?

[argon38]

I am mystified by the script on the front, and cannot guess what Chinese characters they are meant to be. One for the Asian Arts Forum?

[lacemaker3]

I can see two possible "characters" on the front (top left, and middle right), but I think that you may be right, and they may not really be characters at all. They may be a picure of ... something ... in the design.

The one on the left looks like it might be the masts of a ship. Is that another ship just below it?

The one on the right might be a building in the distance? or it might be a character.

[argon38]

Yes, they're what I had in mind. I took the object below the ship's mast (?) character (?) on the left to be a hanging lamp, but it may be a ship as you suggest.