Chinese Qing Dynasty Rank Purse

At first glance this appears to be a lovely elaborately embroidered ladies handbag, silk thread on silk cloth with Peking glass handles. There is an interesting story behind this elegant purse.

During the Qing Dynasty officials wore badges sewn to their robes which indicated their rank and area of service. All military officials wore badges embroidered with specific animals... the civil officials wore badges embroidered with various birds. The badges were square... a solid square on the back of the jacket and a split square on the front at the opening.

 

This custom evolved over time and in the 19th century the wives of court officials were allowed to wear squares that indicated their  husband's rank... with one difference... on a man's badge the animal or bird faces left on the wife's badge, it would face right.

 

So this handbag, embroidered with a peacock would have been the property of a woman married to a civil official of the third rank.

For more information, there is an interesting article on Wikipedia.

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Chinese White Jade Beads

My photographer had to spend a lot of time with these beads...  they have a life and personality that changes with the time of day and light.

He offered to buy them so that he wouldn't have to photograph them anymore... I said "no!". So he presented me with six different lighting and background combinations and asked me to: "take my pick!"

I believe that these beads were originally part of a Mandarin Court Necklace. The 28 smaller 11 mm beads are semi-translucent white jade with pale green undertones... carved with a stylized Shou symbol on 4 sides. The three 20mm larger beads are an opaque pale green with the Shou on 2 sides and provide a stable contrast for the liveliness of the smaller beads.

These beads came from a man who told me; "my mother brought back a much larger necklace from a visit to China in the 1960's and had her jeweler make it into several separate necklaces which she gave to family and friends as a souvenir of her trip."

It makes me wonder... how many Mandarin Court Necklaces met a similar fate?

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

Chinese Ingenuity in Silver

As we looked at the list trying to decide what to write about next...it occurred to me that it made some sense to write about another Qilin to build on the information in the last 2 posts.

This 1920's bracelet is not only a great example of how a Qilin is used ornamentally but also the ingenuity found in Chinese silver jewelry.

From each end of the cuff a Qilin head grins at you...surrounded by floral and palm engravings... the top of the cuff is carved repoussé birds. The massive size and elaborate workmanship make this an ostentatious display of wealth and power.

 [ photos by: RidgewoodEntrust ]

Several years ago I found a smaller bracelet with the same construction made of brass and copper.
Both bracelets have the same makers mark; #23 SG MADE IN CHINA... but clearly these were custom made for different wrists.

This is the most ingenious construction I have ever seen in a bracelet... The artist took the form of of the bracelet and turned the entire bracelet into a clasp.

 

We have shown this to several jewelry experts and they agree... what a remarkable combination of form and function... not to mention beauty!

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