DIA160mm, Hong Kong
This Thursday’s causal wear accessory is a glass bead necklace.
Dont they look like those traditional fruit candy drops that is lightly coated with glucose and came in a tin?
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
DIA220mm, Hong Kong
For the causal wear collection, a rough cut pendant on a leather strap.
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
DIA150mm, Hong Kong
A cheerful piece, like a bunch of fire crackers. The sound of fire crackers are symbols of festivity in China, particularly the Chinese New Year.
Once upon a time, the is a single horn creature named Eve, she is huge and bad tempered. Around the end of the year, she will go to the village and cause chaos; fearing for their lives, the villagers will hide in the mountain. One freezing winter, the villagers were on their way to the mountain hideout, they met a starving little boy. They fed him with what little they have and brought him along to the cave. The boy was curious why everyone, the young and the elders, is making an outing in such cold weather. They told him about the Eve the monster and this is the only way to escape their death. The boy told them he has a way of keeping Eve away, he asked them to chopped up some bamboo and to head back to the village. When they were home, the boy asked them to pile bamboo pieces in the plaze and to hang a piece of red cloth in front of their door. (Yes, I know you are wonder why they will trust a starving boy whom they found in the mountain, but this is how it goes …) The boy told them to stay in door while he lure Eve into the village and at that point they would throw torches into the bamboo pile. It is not long before the boy found the monster destroying the carts, the cloth seems to deter him from attacking the house. Just as the villagers were about to throw the fire torches into the bamboo pile, Eve thrown the boy over with her horn. The fire lightened up the bamboo and with its natural capsule causes a series of small explosion that frighten the Eve away. When the villagers attended to the boy, he told them his name is Year and passed away the next day on Chinese New Year. Though Eve has been scared away, the villagers feared her return, so on every New Year Eve, they would hang the red cloth over their doors and light up the fire crackers 爆竹.
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DIA200mm, Hong Kong
The pair of babies next to the jade plaque are known as Happy Encounter, a romantic blessing symbol. They are holding a lotus flower 蓮, has the same pronunciation (lian) as the word 年 yearly. In the old days, with a high motility rate and the idea of continuing the family tree, having as many children is wish by many. Below the figurines hang a xiu qiu which is a traditional romantic keepsake.
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DIA200mm, China
Another necklace for causal wear.
Colourful glass beads matches with outfits or pick up on black and white.
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
DIA220mm, Hong Kong
A necklace of layering, of intertwining.
Like exotic fruits on a ivy.
Handmade and unique.
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DIA140mm, China
This delicate gold plated carving used to be a hat decoration. Until the Qing dynasty hat was seen as a status symbol, worn by only the Emperor and the high ranking officials, commoners are forbidden to wear hats and usual tie their hair with a piece of cloth. It was until the Qing dynasty that hats became an item for all, though their style and details are still well defined by the social levels. On its hundredth day birthday, a baby would be given a hat which is constructed a bit like the beach ball, bind by 6 equal wedges of cloth. The 6s represented the sky, the earth and the four directions. On this hat a decorative ornament would be place over the forehead, an ornament of good wishes; the eight immortals, longevity, luo han, etc.
This particular decoration has the theme of a Zhuang Yuan, the scholar who came top in the examination.
A wish for scholarly, prosperity, loyalty to the country, everything parents would wish for their child.
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
L400mm, China
A beautiful jade carving pendant of a Tao Tie with a yu bi hanging from his mouth.
According to the book Sheng An Wai Ji, the poet Yang Seng, described the nine sons of the dragon, Tao Tie is one of them. They are;
Bi Xi, one who like carrying heavy stuff and often found with a stone tablet on his back.
Chi Wen, one who enjoys the vista, often found one the ridges of buildings.
Pu Lao, love music, found on bells.
Bi An, one who hates criminals, found on the lintel of the prison.
Tao Tie, one who loves to eat, found on lids and the side of cauldrons; sometimes found on the middle of the beam, it is believed that he can drank all the water and keep the flood away.
Gong Fu, love to play with water, found on bridges.
Ya Zi, a fierce creature with weapons.
Suan Ni, loves smoky fire, found on the lid of incense burner.
Jiao Tu, hates trespassers, oftern found on the main door.
This mythical creature, the fifth son of the dragon, is one who loves to eat made a perfect ornament for festive season.
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
DIA140mm, China
A hetian jade butterfly pendant on beautifully hand woven necklace.
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DIA120mm, China
Yu Bi is a form of jade that is used for ceremony, like the jade huang it is one of the 6 forms of jade that is used for ritual ceremony and later identification. Yu Bi generally describes a piece of circular jade with a hole in the middle, as they sometimes come with pattern, this particular would be known as a Su (plain) Yu Bi, its being raised up in the center is known as a collar hence You Ling (collar) Su Yu Bi. This form of Yu Bi was for the late Shang dynasty, like the iphone in the 20th century, it was an high tech object, a status symbol that became so popular that it can be found in various parts of China.
This is Emporer Qian Long’s favourite, he wrote several poems about it and asked for the poem to be engraved onto the jade. The item is now part of the British Museum Collection.
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Collectible Jewellery Collection
Mountain Folkcraft 