I want to thank all of the people who contributed their time and care to this project. It is a beautiful and meaningful piece of history/culture/craftsmanship/art – all combined together …I hope that it’s new owner loves it as much as I do.

“The Emperor’s Beads” … these are the only beads that have ever made me cry … I bought them online four  years ago… and when I opened the package I found out that Customs had opened the box – unwrapped the beads and had broken 21 beads… I was so upset that I put the box in the back of the closet and didn’t look at them until a few months ago…. These are the most amazing beads that I have ever owned …”

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

Well, in a half hearted attempt, I started to restring them but after an hour or so put them back into the drawer… and there they sat… again for years. Bob has been working with Michael Cook on the Mandarin Court Restoration and Michael created a run of white plied silk for him.

The other day he asked me to come out to the studio… and there they were… strung as they once had been… on a neck form where I could see them every day!

Now I have a different name for them… The Beads that finally made me smile!

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

The beginning of the Qing Dynasty starts with Emperor Shunzhi who was 5 years old when he became Emperor in 1644.

"Legend has it that the Court necklace was patterned after a mala (a string of Tibetan prayer beads) that were given to Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661) as a gift from the Dalai Lama." PrivateCollection”

In 1653, the 10th year of the reign of the Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing dynasty, the 5th Dalai Lama, who had reached Beijing in the previous year, was granted an honorific title plus a golden certificate of appointment and a golden seal of authority by the Qing imperial court. Credit: china.org.cn

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[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The other technique’s origin (with its French name – Cloisonné (cloisons in French), was originally from Byzantium or the Islamic world and the technique reached China in the 13-14th centuries.  There are a number of good articles on the internet about both techniques… Wikipedia and the Metropolitan museum have a great deal of history and information.

“Chinese cloisonné is sometimes confused with Canton enamel, a similar type of enamel work that is painted on freehand and does not utilize partitions to hold the colors separate.” What I thought would be helpful to show how a cloisonné bead was made and compare it to the relatively free form of the Canton Enamel technique.

Steps in Cloisonné Process

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

Cantonese Enamel Beads

These necklaces were created with the link chain already in place. Even without the metal forms found in cloisonné, Chinese artisans are remarkable in creating beautiful symmetries and repeating patterns, It is a wonderful mix of freeform design and discipline… not to mention the vivid color and presence of each bead.

Introduction

In 2007 when we were just getting the blog started, one of the first pieces I photographed for Susan was a Mandarin Court Necklace. There are two things that I remember the most. The first was trying to figure out how to lay out a very large and complicated piece to illustrate it to its best advantage. The second was how different it was from the other pieces in the collection.

When Susan wrote in the post, “The Mandarin Court Necklace is the goal of the serious collector. Legend has it that the Court necklace was patterned after a mala (a string of Tibetan prayer beads) that were given to Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661) as a gift from the Dalai Lama,” I really understood why.

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[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

Silver solder can’t be used near a gemstone because the heat could crack the stone and other soldering techniques are not dependable. So, in the past, converting a broach to a pendant posed a big challenge, a great deal of time and it created quite a dilemma; risk cracking the beautiful jade or possibly damaging the wonderful intricate silver setting beyond repair by removing the stone from it.

Today, laser technology solves that problem and my wonderful jeweller Ralph Schroetter owns one… so it was possible to fuse the silver without risking damage. We mounted two silver loops allowing me to add the jade beads and a silver clasp.

Preserving a beautiful example of Chinese workmanship… a combination of old and new techniques comes together in harmony for a change.

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

"It’s always amazing to hold an artefact of the past like this, imagining the hands it has been through and the things it’s seen.  The silk is still lustrous and soft, although it has been shredded somewhat through wearing and darkened a little with age and use." 

"It was clear from the start that the design of the beads and the design of the yarn holding them up was closely aligned; there’s nothing else quite like silk, and no other kind of cord would do the beads justice." 

"Analysis of the cord on which the beads were strung revealed that it’s made of very low-twist filament silk; the closest that I could get to the look and feel is a variety of filament yarn called tram.  To make up the tram, a number of strands (in this particular case, six) are twisted gently together – this yields a yarn of exceptional shine and softness, and leaves the yarn with quite a bit of fluff and loft."

"It’s the loft that makes the beads sit nicely on the cord – the low level of twist allows the strands fluff up a little with air, so that the beads rest on the cord without slipping.  It also yields a certain handle to the overall necklace because the multiple strands move differently than a single cord would." 

"The strands were measured out on a weaver’s warping board to make up the parallel lengths, wrapped onto tubes for transport, and then threaded together through the beads with a large-eye needle.  The yarn was sourced from Devere Yarns in the UK; I used their six-strand (120 denier) silk embroidery tram."

If you have a bit of time, 3 minutes and six seconds actually, it is well worth spending it watching …this video of Michael and his silkworms, which the American Museum of Natural History produced for their exhibit, "Traveling the Silk Road."  The exhibit opened in Manhattan in 2009, and is now on a tour of museums around the world … although I will warn you that you may be tempted to watch it more than once !!

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The shape seemed so familiar…I checked with Patricia Welch’s book Chinese Art … "An eggplant is a fertility symbol as it is both fast growing and has numerous seeds … because cucumbers, gourds, melons and pumpkins grow on vines and have large numbers of seeds, they are all associated with fertility… the Chinese artist could utilize pictures of seeds and nuts to convey the wish for many children"

Bob showed me a photo his friend Tracy Lamb had just shot for one of her client’s brochures … Eggplant …it had to be! Perhaps the artist took a bit of liberty as to which end of the fruit the stem was on?

The style of the workmanship was also familiar. The necklace is marked: MADE IN CHINA SILVER but it also has a mark that has appeared on a number of pieces in the collection… NO. 23. There has been some discussion that the mark is for an Assay Office (which existed from approximately 1890-1937 in China) but we have also seen the mark used for pieces that do not test silver like the bracelet used in these black and white photos that Bob did for his portfolio.

NO. 23 seems to have a style and quality associated with it that is not dependant on materials…

Never the less, this is a wonderful Chinese Wedding Necklace made even more charming by its artistic quirks and beautiful symbolism… there was a very lucky bride!

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

Bob manages to have everything in his world (including this site) on some sort of digital gizmo …he will tell me: “If all of his stuff was on paper it would weigh a ton … instead of ounces.”

Me… Well, I still really prefer the good old paper and ink… and while my shelves of art and antique reference books have diminished because of inconvenient things like moving… I still have many of my books on Chinese cultural and ornaments.

While the internet is filled with information and the search engines do a great job of helping find it… I thought I would share some of the printed books (that are still available on Amazon) which I have found helpful. So in no special order…

Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought (Routledge Dictionaries) by Wolfram Eberhard (Jul 11, 1986)

Oriental Cloisonné and Other Enamels: A Guide to Collecting and Repairing by Arthur Chu (Dec 1975)

Francis: Asia’s Maritime Bead Trade by Peter Francis (Jan 1, 2002)

Four Centuries of Silver: Personal Adornment in the Qing Dynasty and After by Margaret Duda (Dec 1, 2002)

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery by Patricia Bjaaland Welch (Sep 10, 2012)

The History of Beads: From 100,000 B.C. to the Present, Revised and Expanded Edition by Lois Sherr Dubin (Nov 1, 2009)

I hope that you will find them useful too!

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

Mother of Pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. (Wikipedia)

The Chinese have been using  Mother of Pearl for ornamentation for over 1500 years. Usually, it is associated with; game markers and buttons or the beautiful inlays the Chinese use in conjunction with lacquer …but very seldom with jewelry.

An image  search on Goggle seems to bare this out. After 15 pages or so, while I saw a number of beautiful Mother of Pearl ornaments, none were really comparable to this carving.

What I love the most is the skill the carver …creating a character that seems to come to life.

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

It is not often that I come across an item that has a Bill of Sale with it … but instead of ending the story right there… it creates more questions than it answers. This bracelet is stamped: MADE IN CHINA… and found its way to Hong Kong but the date on the receipt was probably 40 years after the bracelet was made (and it shows very little if no wear). The date on the receipt is close to one of the major dates in modern Chinese history; the passing of Mao Zedong on September 9th of 1976.

Doing the research on this piece of jewelry prompted me to spend hours reading about this period in Chinese history. This is one of those times when  I wish that pieces could talk… the story that this bracelet could tell… not only about the artist who created it but the times that it lived in and how it made its way, first to Hong Kong and then to the US – via a tourist … who for whatever reason kept the receipt and bracelet in its original box.

Once again, a piece of jewelry becomes more than just a pretty ornament… teaching me…

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

We have featured Chinese glass beads before. In March of 2010, we did a post on a similarly carved set of beads and highlighted the beautiful knotting that was used to string them. 

But these 19th century golden yellow beads are a very special set and help illustrate the importance of color for Chinese beads.

“The five colors is the name given to the five basic colors in the Chinese world order. Each, (color) is associated with one of the five basic elements…

The five colors are; red, white, blue/green, yellow and black…but crimson, red and yellow were only used by nobility and forbidden to commoners. Chinese Art: B. B. Welch

So, I was very excited to find these hand carved beads –they must have been owned by a member of the royal family… this is the first yellow set that I have ever seen and the color is spectacular!

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

[ photos curtsey of WY Zhao; edited by RP (Bob) Birt … Click to Enlarge ]

When Chinese ornament designer W. Y. Zhao sent me a portfolio of her designs, I decided to do something that I have never done before… present a modern artist’s work on PrivateCollection… because they took  my breath away and (as you know) one of my favorite expressions is: “I have never seen this before!”

So I have selected several of her designs (which contain elements I have written about before: Kingfisher Jewelry and Mandarin Hat Buttons ) … presented in their new modern form… which will also be considered ‘antiques’ a hundred years from now …

Wenyan explained in her letter that: she gathers pieces together from many different places and she has people that will contact her when they come across even broken pieces that might be discarded … putting together old and new… and what I really appreciated were her descriptions that explain which is which! Also… the beautiful attention to details like the fine wrapping and mounting for each of her necklaces are in the tradition of beautiful Chinese workmanship.

There are so many variations and unique pieces  I think the best way to see them is to visit Wenyan’s Taobao Web Shop but make sure you have your teacup filled before you do… you might be spending a lot of time there!

Did you know that Google’s Chrome Browser will automatically translate foreign language web sites?

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The vintage piece is certainly striking! The quality of the workmanship is very good and many of the techniques, especially the enamel work, are excellent.

But certain ‘shortcuts’ have been taken that become more obvious when the construction is compared between the vintage and antique bracelets below… and there is the use of ‘faux’ glass rather than stones… which only a physical examination can determine.

I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to offer it to a customer as a ‘quality vintage piece’. It is when it is offered for sale as an ‘antique’ to an uninformed buyer …which one can see from the photos would be possible… I become worried that the old adage ‘buyer beware’ has become all too true for new collectors… especially when they are buying from photographs on the internet…  

Visit PrivateCollection’s PictureBook to see additional photos of the pieces… many in larger formats.

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The front of the cuff has a wonderful scene of a woman within the walls of her home (perhaps holding a child) …and the sides of the cuff are decorated with four Immortals. At first, I was tempted to think that it might be a depiction of He-Xiangu, the patron deity of housewives, but it would appear she is not holding a ladle -an important part of her story when she became an Immortal.

The Immortals From left to right above:
1)Li Tieguai: the earliest and first of the group to attain immortality, he carries an iron crutch and his other symbol, the gourd, is on his shoulder. He offers comfort to the sick and support to their caretakers
2) Zhongi Quan: the leader of the group, and former soldier, he is easy to recognize with his large bare belly, he has the power to revive the dead.
3) Lu Dongbin: the scholar, also has power to heal, the sword over his head can drive out disease and evil.
4) Han Xiangzi: playing his flute, easily recognizable as inspiration to musicians he is known also as a philosopher, his flute has the power to give life.

I feel that it would be hard to pick just four of the eight Immortals and that the matching cuff had the other four (including He-Xiangu).  Perhaps the same image on the front …or not …with all of the symbols of fertility and good fortune, maybe the other image was of her holding her another baby!

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

So last week when I went through the PictureBook section, I discovered that only six pieces were lapis… so I am thrilled to share with you the best lapis bracelet we have had in the collection.

The stones are early 19^th century carvings and reset in the early 20^th century in a traditional silver setting with Repoussé flowers and leaves … the lapis has beautiful carving… and also retains the original character of the stone with grey and pyrite sparkled highlights… not found in the dyed lapis we see so much of these days.

In the blog, other articles on lapis can be found by using the search function on the site… so I will not comment on the history of the use of the lapis stone here… but it was very special which just adds to the uniqueness of this piece.

Along the way, someone obviously cleaned the silver too thoroughly and some of the patina was lost… but it is making its way back slowly and surely. Someday it will return because this bracelet has hundreds of years of life left in it… and hopefully will always be treasured!

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

Many Chinese Export Silver collectors consider ‘glass’ to be inferior to hard stones such as jade or turquoise but the process of creating a clear and beautifully colored glass is an art form in itself. These deep blue pieces should probably be termed ‘crystal’ and have the qualities of finest ‘leaded glass’ found in the West and are almost perfectly matched. I find nothing inferior about it.

My first thought was that the glass cabs might be a replacement for earlier stones but the construction and design is so exact, it becomes obvious that it was ‘intentionally’ created… yet another unique piece from #23… and created for the export market.

A wonderful combination of two art forms… definitely designed to be noticed when worn!

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

While the quality of the carving and the beautiful translucence of the large 18th century white jade pendant makes it very desirable, it is the use of both forms of the ancient swastika symbol within the wings of the bat that makes it so rare.

The ancient right facing symbol has a huge stigma for Westerners (as I wrote about in one of my early blogs Chinese Wedding Set-Jade and Silver pictured below) … So most of the carvings we find in the west use the left facing form.

There are hundreds of web pages devoted to the symbol for those who would like to research it further… (including the addition of the symbol into the Chinese language in 693 AD) But this piece is an excellent example of how the symbols were appropriately used to represent the fullness of good fortune.

Some of the other pendants Bob photographed can be seen in his gallery [link]

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The eight panels of this bracelet are triangles -curved and tapered.

My first thought was that many of the Chinese silver ornaments that we have photographed are made by great craftsmen. But some of the great craftsmen are also artists… and artists are driven to create something new…

I feel very lucky to have found this piece!

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

The carving of the quartz is very detailed and deep …each of the 5 stones is different. At first glance, because it is set in a solid silver backing, the carving has an almost onyx like appearance … but comes to life in light.

The repoussé (early 2oth Century) is extremely well done and there is a fine vermeil wash giving the bracelet a changing character depending on the background and light…

I think that it was worth waiting for… I have to remind myself sometimes that there is a reason why some things are called rare!

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

While we have seen some very creative emails to ask for listing prices, we have also enjoyed the hundreds of emails thanking us for maintaining an archive that has helped people research and discover more about Chinese jewelry.

Unfortunately, because of recent abuses of the materials (including potential frauds), we have decided that it is best to take it offline. It is always sad that because of a few, everyone else suffers.

I really hope that you will understand and support this decision…. Susan

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

They are the same size and carving as the pit beads in the Mandarin Court Necklace in PictureBook (2010-02-01). [link]

What makes this necklace special to me are the four huge carved peach pits… 40mm x 20mm with 2 carved with a monkey riding a horse and 2 carved with Buddhist monks.

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

What makes a piece rare? This is original 19th century Chinese knotting… and an unusual combination of amethyst and white jade…and the white Hetian jade plaque features the He-He twins carved in an early 19th century style … and the two sets of ‘Devil’s Work’ jade each have four interesting rings … the only 4 ring sets that I have ever owned…

After 15 years of handling Chinese ornaments, I still get a thrill touching something this beautiful!

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

So, this bracelet was a surprise when we found it… just three huge pieces of tourmaline in a simple silver setting that reminds me of the work of the native North American Navajo silver work.

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

In the digital age, anyone can go online on multiple web sites and find thousands of new jade bangles for sale at low prices. But the new bangles are all made recently with diamond bits and dremals or dental drills. This bangle was hand carved in the early 19th century using the classical ‘treadle’ techniques.

The antique bangle excites my imagination… the story of a culture dedicated to the pursuit of beauty.

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

But this pair of heavy (200 g.) high grade silver bracelets tells another story…the figures on the bracelets are unlike anything we see on pieces made for the Western markets.

China trade routes throughout Asia and these figures remind me of images I have seen in Thailand (formally known as Siam) art.

Marked Made in China, these bracelets are a reminder that the Chinese silversmith traded throughout the world.

BTW… you can see that Bob is finally back, which means that we will be posting more often and announcing a new ‘Sales Gallery’ very soon.  I am excited!

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

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

“Yellow was the color associated with the Emperor ”… Chinese Art, Welch.

I am thinking about ways to restring the remaining beads. They are rare porcelain and hollow and yellow – you can see from the fragments how thin the porcelain is… hence the term "eggshell".

These are the most amazing beads that I have ever owned …

[ click on images to enlarge .... photos by: RP (Bob) Birt ]

During the Qing Dynasty only members of the Imperial family were entitled to use pearls, coral and lapis. The coral came from Italy and the lapis came from Afghanistan, which made them both very rare in China.

The carving of these 38 lapis beads is typical of 18th century treadle work and has the Shou carving on two sides of each bead… so they were carved after they arrived in China and must have been used in a court necklace for a member of the Imperial family.

We understand how the lapis and coral traveled to China because the trade routes are well documented …but how the Imperial beads traveled to the US is still a mystery.

And of course …after I found these beads I had to buy the lapis earrings so that the beads wouldn’t feel lonely!