90mm diameter.
1930 Trade Dollar set within silver dish. Engraved with 'Wishing Mr & Mrs J.K - Longevity Prosperity & Happy Retirement - Typhoon Annie - H.K - 1-2-56'.
Reverse stamped 'TACKHING STERLING MADE IN H.K S'.
'Mr & Mrs J.K' is thought to be Sir John Henry Keswick, KCMG (1906–1982). Keswick was an influential Scottish businessman in China and Hong Kong. He was the tai-pan of Jardine, Matheson & Co., the leading British trading firm in the Far East, and had established friendship with many Chinese politicians. He was also a representative of the Special Operations Executive, a British intelligence service during the Second World War.
He was the taipan of Jardine from 1952 to 1956 in Hong Kong and was appointed to the Executive Council. For his contributions, he was invested as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1950. He was also the president of the Sino-British Trade Council from 1961 to 1973 and was at one time president of the China Association and vice-president of the Great Britain-China Centre. In 1973, he was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) for his contributions to China trade. As a personal friend of Zhou Enlai, Sir John continued to make annual trips to China. In 1979 when Deng Xiaoping seized power after the Cultural Revolution, Sir John visited China with the Great Britain-China Centre delegation led by Malcolm MacDonald.
Sir John spoke fluent Chinese. He developed a friendship with Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China, and Madame Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen during his stay in China. He was a Chinese art collector, particularly contemporary paintings.
He married Clare Mary Alice Cynthia Catherine Celia Elwes (1905–1998), youngest daughter of tenor Gervase Elwes and Lady Winefride, daughter of the 8th Earl of Denbigh. They married in Westminster Cathedral in 1940. Their only child was Margaret Keswick (1941–1995). She was a writer, gardener and designer and married an American architect and writer, Charles Jencks in 1978.