Archives for posts with tag: collectible jewellery collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA130mm, China

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A pair of jade bats.
The Chinese believes that bats symbolizes blessing, 2 bats, double blessing.
The word for bat is 蝠 ( fu), which sound like the word for blessing, 福 (fu)

Personally, I think they are the sweetest bats, perhaps second to this … wait to see it even yawns!

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA140mm, China

This beautiful necklace is made up of a string of hollowed jade beads.
The colour works strikely well with the hand woven Chinese knots string.

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

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DIA140mm, China

The creature of the pendant is known as a “Tao Tie”, in mythical legend he is fifth son of the dragon.  The Tao Tie has the face of a goat and the body of a man, he has eyes under his armpits, teeth of the tiger but the voice of a baby.

The Tao Tie is said to be a greedy eater and thus his images are found in a lot of bronze cauldrons, even the gourmet experts are referred to as old Tao.

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA140mm, China

It would be hard to guess what is the black metal badge behind the dragon.
….
A bronze mirror!  This mirror is unfortunately not polished, so you will not be able to turn it over to re-apply the lipstick after meal.

For the Chinese, the bronze mirror is a lovers’ keepsake, a token of love.  The story goes back to the Southern and Northern dynasty; a couple was departed during the war, the husband saw the bronze mirror in half and each kept a piece as a keepsake.  Years later, after a lot of hardship the two was able to find each other with the token mirror.  And finally the circular mirror was completed again.
破鏡重圓

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Something Old Something New
Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA120mm, China

Jade huang is one of the six forms of jade used for the recruitment of the court, a little bit like the staff identification card of today.  Each form and its different material would represent a different grade in the court.  By the Shang dynasty, it is more of a decorative object worn over the chest as a pendant.

This necklace is made up of piece of a hetain jade (nephrite) huang, tied together in the fashion of the famous jade armor.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADia130mm, China

The pendants of this necklace are called Yu Le Li and they are believed to be a cousin of the bracelet!

Many many years ago, Yu Le Li was a jade cylindrical tube used in the ritual ceremony for demon cleansing.  As times goes by it was developed into the form of the bracelet and also as a waist pendant.  The small pendant form is now used in this necklace.

Ceremonial Gong

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA130mm, China

The beautiful jade pendant has the theme of a carp swimming among the lotus, this theme is popular in Chinese painting.  It is true that muddy lotus pool offer an ideal habitat for the carp fish and that it makes an interesting composition, the reason for this established theme lays in another reason.  Like most Chinese decoration, it is an idea of blessing; the words lotus 蓮 (lian) and carp 鯉 (li) shares the same pronouncation with the words joined 連 (lian) and branches 理 (li).  連理 refers to two individual trees having their branches joined together (inosculation), a marriage, becoming one.   A blessing for the marriage, an ideal X’mas present for the wife.

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA100mm, China

 The pendent for this necklace is a jade head piece.

The idea of a headpiece comb developed very early in China; the word “beauty” 美 came from a goat 羊 hat over a dancing man 大 (a man 人 with his hands extended).  The concept of head gear developed into a social etiquette,  a complete system was formed for ranking of officials, classes and for different occasions.  When a young noble male reaches the age of 20,  there will be a crowning ceremony, signifying the change from a boy to a man.

Some head pieces are secured on the hair bundle rather than as worn as a hat and this pendant is one of them.

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Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA130mm, China

Before looking into the subject, I have always thought that 琉璃 “liu li” is only a posher name for glass 玻璃 “bo li”.  Unlike the ordinary glass “liu li” is a precious material, one of the 7 treasures of musaragalva, agate, liu li, amber, pearl and musk.

“liu li” is in fact a totally different material and is produced with an entirely different technique.  The technique of “liu li” production has been used in China for over 2000 years, it is believed to be an accidental discovery during early lead making.  In the process of making oxidized lead, a glaze like substance is found to be attached to the clay kiln, a further firing of the glaze with quartz became the early formula of liu li.  Unlike glass, “liu li” is opaque and formed by a laborious task of casting and sanding.

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Something Old Something New Collectible Jewellery Collection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADIA140mm, China

A combination of 3 different set of jade beads.

The inside chiain most transparant,
the middle of the form of a gourd,
the outer, the darkest and the most soild in form.

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Collectible Jewellery Collection