When I chanced upon these jade flowers in a shop on my last visit to China I was almost asphyxiated with Lust (but not of the Lee Ang kind) and throwing Caution (he! he!)to the winds I just had to own them. Luckily they were still within my modest budget otherwise like Lee Ang's heroine I might have to stake my life on them !!
The jade blossoms are either round or elongated in shape and except for the centre flower, all are carved in multi layers. Made from nephrite they date from Ming to Qing times and the shapes and patterns are well documented in Cheng Te Kun's paper "Jade flowers and floral patterns in Chinese decorative art". These exquisite ornaments "full of subtle charm and beauty" were used to adorn m'ladies hair or bodice. The black one is very rare, I haven't even seen it in a collectors' book, thats how rare it is !
