Amethyst is one of the most popular varieties of the quartz family… there are many ancient legends about these lovely stones.

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

“Formerly it was believed that amethyst protected drinkers from becoming drunk…worn as an amulet, amethyst was used as a charm against poisons" …Precious and Semiprecious Stones, Bauer and Bouska.

But purple has always been one of my favorite colors and you can imagine how exited I was to find a string of 108 amethyst beads carved with the Shou symbol.

The carving again suggests that these are probably 18th century Mandarin Court beads …

This is probably the most dramatic string of beads in the ‘bead blog series’ that I am writing… the green is so strong that many people assume they are jade … but they are serpentine, a softer stone than jade, so it is easier to hollow out the stones.

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

My gemologist tells me that these beads were carved with a diamond drill which means they were probably carved post 1950… about 100 years after the carved jade beads in our next blog.

But if you love green and have a special occasion where you want everyone’s eyes on you… these beads are for you.

I am very excited to announce that I have been accepted to show my bead work on the 2011 Northumberland Hills Studio Tour, September 10^th and 11^th …a tour filled with great artists in some of the prettiest towns in Ontario …

Please visit my new bead page www.susandods.com/beads …with its link to the tour web site… containing maps and more information about the other artists.

Over the next month leading up to the tour, I will be posting more articles about Chinese beads. Hopefully, I will be able to answer some of your questions in person!

We have featured a number of these necklaces on the blog over the years … there is something very special and compelling about them. One can only imagine the history that they have witnessed …the stories that they could tell!

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

Lately, there seem to be a number of them being offered on the market… mostly through eBay and the quality and prices vary wildly. Some are obvious fakes that have been thrown together to take advantage of the interest in the market, some are reconstructions from several different necklaces … and there is much debate about what is ‘original’ vs. ‘restored’… and given the age of the delicate silk thread that was used, necklaces may have been restrung during the Qing Dynasty or modified by an owner as they rose in rank at the court. It is a difficult evaluation to make.

This necklace is a ‘Partial’ … a term we use to denote that some of the beads are missing but that all of the major elements are original to the necklace. At some point in time, the silk thread must have broken and 12 of the original 108 beads were lost. The necklace was restrung with the remaining 96 beads distributed evenly with the head beads…

The workmanship and quality of these exquisite enameled beads, lead me to believe that there is nothing ‘partial’ about its beauty!

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

Our Best Chinese Silver Dragon Bracelet! Over the years we have owned many silver dragon bracelets and I always believed that the large repoussé silver dragon (10-05-11) was the most dramatic… over the years we have acquired three of them and seen 4-5 others.

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

So it was really exciting to find this enamel dragon bracelet -same design and size (six panels) with dragons facing the sun – but totally different construction – this one is entirely filigree and and translucent with bright colors on the dragons and sun… and very rare.

It is the only one that I have seen in ten years of collecting …interesting early mark: CHINA PURE SILVER with lots of patina.

Many years ago I polished every piece of silver but soon over the years I have come to believer that the patina is an import part of the story… part of the history.

Our blogs have always used two terms to describe Chinese enamels: cloisonné and Canton enamel …but there is a third type of Chinese Enamel …

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

The French call it "Ronde-bosse" and have used the technique since the 14th century.

These are three examples that I have picked up over the years – each circa 1890-1910 … they all appear to be custom made pieces. The mirror is the most unusual; repoussé sea creatures -  lobster, frog, turtle etc. with a jade handle. The bookends have a lotus at the center with two Shou symbols … and the box was painted with subtle shades and tones.

This is not mass production… this is an unknown Chinese artist enjoying his craft.

Another interesting design by #23 …These two bracelets were also made by the same designer as the pieces in my last blog. Again the construction of the bracelets is very different.

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

High grade silver (tests 900) and carved teak …with a clasp at the center front …one has two silver dragons …the other four silver coy fish. It is not unusual to find Chinese bamboo bracelets but theses are the only Chinese teak bracelets that I have seen.

Many of the Chinese bracelets that we see were produced by a workshop that included a silversmith, an enameller and a carver.

The pieces made by #23 always suggest the work of an artist – looking for new forms of expression… jewelry as an art form.

This is another one of a kind example…a large bracelet featuring Immortal Woman He or He Xiangu (Named Hé Qióng (何瓊 Hé Qióng),  (何仙姑 Hé Xiān Gū in pinyin) …the only female of the 8 Immortals… depicted on 3 panels of silver vermeil.

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

The unique feature of this bracelet is… all of the panels are surrounded by silver curled to look like ribbons… I cannot remember ever seeing another silversmith use this technique…

Very few individual artists have emerged form my study of Chinese jewelry… this bracelet is an example of my favorite designer…. his mark is #23SG and his designs are always interesting and often unique.

These are examples of his work which have been featured previously on the blog…

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