Chinese Silver Coral Qilin Bracelet

The silver Qilin pendant in my last post is not the only use of this popular mythological figure in Chinese ornaments... the rank badges of high court officials would be embroidered with the Qilin, it appeared in all ornamental forms from paintings to paper lanterns.

  

This salmon coral carving of the Qilin is one of the rarer examples...likely a 19th century carving set c.1900-1930 as a bracelet...a custom setting ...one I have never seen before...features six Qilin in silver, repoussé carved and chased.

 

The mark is also informative: PEIPING CHINA SILVER BEE...

PEIPING is an older spelling of Peking; now Beijing. Very few pieces of Chinese jewelry identify the region in which the piece was made... here we have the place as well as the mark of the maker or workshop - BEE.

The field of Chinese export jewelry is a relatively new area for collectors ...there are no reference books...so collecting interesting marks like this one is almost as exciting as the rare coral carving.

Visit PrivateCollection's PictureBook to see additional photos... many in larger formats.