Chinese Jewelry Collection

The history of the human race is recorded in its' jewelry...so part of the excitement for me is discovering where an ornament fits in the historic landscape...what it meant to the original owners...

[click on images to enlarge]

These early 20thc figures of a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor and Empress came to me by accident...I stumbled across them while looking for something quite different...



Their presence and dignity is more compelling than any of the portraits that I have seen of members of the Mandarin court and I felt they belonged with the collection.