Christmas 2016 with Deer

 

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells.....

 

........here comes Santa's helpers in the guise of  archaic jade deer to celebrate Christmas 2016. Instead of Santa's traditional reindeer, I will present in this post, my pair of  jade deer purportedly  from Shang-Xizhou dynasty (1600-221BC)

 

 

Celebrating Christmas 2016 with my archaic jade deer



 Left deer measures 3.5cm  and right deer measures 3cm. (pic below) They are  simply carved on both sides with heads turned back  and a few incised lines on their bodies. Although much of the jade is still smooth and lustrous the hooves and antlers show signs of patination and alteration. The remains of ancient toolmarks, an indicator of age can be seen in all the  unpolished grooves and perforations.

 

Reverse view

 

Left behind quartz stones in the narrow crevices  in between the antlers and the hoofs also point to the great age of these carvings, see enlargements below.

 

Quartz stone in the antlers



Quartz stone in the hooves

 

Spots of russet on the noses  remind me of legendry Rudolph  and leaves me wondering if they are indeed the ancient ancestors of the mythical Rudolph!  :)

 

Rudolph the red nose reindeer.....

 

.....had a very shiny nose....





....Rudolph the red nose reindeer
you will go down in history.....



Back to the present, here's a contemporary scene with golden deer from Fairprice to celebrate Christmas 2016. 

 



Merry Christmas 2016 with contemporary reindeer



Merry Christmas to Jade Collectors !

Revisiting old Haunts and getting a haul....

.....of antique hairpins

I had not visited this shop in over a decade  because of all that's been  happening in my life(both good and bad ) that prevented me from going. Well ten years is  a long time and I did not really expect the shop or the shop keeper to be still in business. So it was pleasantly nostalgic to discover both shop and lady boss to be still in operation albeit shop was reduced to half its size and lady boss had aged by ten years (as I also) Despite the changes we both recognized each other immediately and effusively.

Here are some pictures of the nice haul I got from that impromptu  and  fortuitous visit



 

Antique hairpins from the Ming - Qing dynasty (1368-1911)
Very-old-world sweet !

  

Close ups of  the hairpins are shown below


Jade lotuses set in silver gilt evoke nostalgia 



delicate and graceful  bird with dangle, to adorn a ladies' hair

Captivating white jade flower. The 4 petals appear convex but are actually concave!
 

 

Silver gilt butterfly with blue enamel ends in a tiny spoon

2 white jade bis set in silver gilt

 

A pair of colorful hairpins hand wired with jade and beads depicting a floral design





 

Hairpins look good  displayed in my centuries old pots.



Let me count the ways.....

           

How do I love thee...... (my focal/ancient beads)

           And how do I wear thee .....?

           Let me count the ways.....

 

 focal ancient beads suitable for making into bracelets



Most beadcollectors like to wear their beads (focal or otherwise) as necklaces but I choose to wear mine as bracelets.  Perhaps the real reason is not so much my unlovely neck (although that is part reason) as that I cannot manage to string together a decent necklace.... too long for me to handle ....lack the skill....it so much easier to put together a simple bracelet on an elastic cord and presto I can have my fix !

Some examples :

Biconical amethyst focal bead with truncated biconical crystals



Flat six sided faceted crystal with old green and white glass beads

 

Top bracelet: Square tube focal turquoise with old coral

beads and two small turquoise flanking beads one carved

in the shape of a yuan bao, the other of a bird

Bottom: Flat oval turquoise bead with cloud  carving 

pattern likely to be from China's Warring state period.
The filler beads are old blue and white glass  melons.
 

My simplistic bands focus on well, a focal ancient bead strung with plain old filler beads which may or may not be ancient. Pearls in particular make good supporting beads for my projects. Their neutral white color blends well with ancient beads.



Below I show off the  round white pearls I inherited from my Mum (vintage around 70 years) and they have been teamed up with two flat ancient beads.  Focal bead on left is an ancient nephrite tubular bead with 6 facets,  while   on right  the dark red diamond shaped carnelian is from Vietnam's Sa Huynh culture (100 BC-200AD)

 

Pearls make good companions for ancient focal beads

Freshwater pearls are cheap, comes in an assortment of hues and I use them without fail  to combine  with focal ancient beads.

Fresh water pearls

The gemstone  faceted  tubular bead shown below, likely from Pyu dynasty (100BC-840AD) is a  lovely sapphire blue, am hoping its one :) mixes well with these wee white freshwater pearls.

 

 

Sapphire color but is it sapphire ??





Next I've highlighted a rose quartz elephant with pink freshwater pearls. The rose quartz elephant bead is likely to be stuff from Pyu dynasty.

 

rose quartx elephant flanked by rosy fresh water pearls

 

Another arrangement with pink freshwater pearls is this  bracelet featuring four focal, blue gemstone  beads, again Pyu dynasty  likely.  The stones are in the most wonderful hues of blue. I am guessing and hoping, aquamarine, blue topaz or blue quartz. All are hand faceted.

  



favourite bracelet with four focal beads in shades of blue

 





An unusual ivory or bone (I'm not sure which) grooved tube bead which I interpret as representing  an  elephant is nicely matched with old white coral beads from Sarawak, shown below.

 

Grooved tubular bead may represent a Pyu elephant

 

Another favourite of mine featuring a carnelian crown shaped bead which was previously part of a  Qing dynasty hairpin, shown below.  Beside the focal crown bead, the two flanking beads are also way interesting. The small faceted round bead on the right  measures only 0.5 cm is  decorated with  wavy bands that culminate in what looks like a pair of eyes, all courtesy of  nature. By contrast,  the round carnelian  bead on the left is decorated with  a basket ball pattern etched my man thousands of years ago. Some old coral beads act as fillers to this winsome threesome.

Focal crown bead and two flanking carnelian beads make a winsome threesome.

 

 Here are close ups of the 2 small carnelians.


decorated by Nature

etched by man





No doubt my "creations" are not  really remarkable but still they serve me well. With more than a dozen bracelets at my disposal I get to enjoy a different focal bead each day.

Below are another few more examples :

3 bracelets with focal beads



 



Focal venetian tube bead with floral design

 

Early tubular turquoise bead with round pearls

 

And last, my killer trapezoidal bead with phoenix pattern and red Xizhou  (1027-771BC) carnelian disc beads.

the nonpareil phoenix

 

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Phoenix on a Bi

A bi is described as a flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre resembling  modern day cds or doughnuts.  Bis  have been in use since Neolithic times and have various ritualistic and auspicious associations. 

The flat jade disc shown below resembles a bi except for the perforation which does not sit in the middle so I will describe it as a bi with an off centre hole,  although I can't account for the aberration.



Bi with off centre hole



The piece is flat and round, measuring  3cm across and 0.6cm thick . A phoenix, curled round a stylized border is carved on one side of the disc. Its shape and phoenix pattern  bears resemblance to the necklace closures or clasps seen on  many  of the recovered  sumptuous pei pectorals (necklaces) of the Xizhou dynasty. (1027-771BC) Such  necklaces showing the closures are also displayed  in numerous museums throughout China, so very tentatively I may ascribe this bi closure to that period.

Could be a necklace closure (clasp)



The back is uncarved except for small scratch marks near the hole,  which maybe archaic script (is it jia-guwen 甲骨文  the oracle writing of the Shang dynasty),  or artists' signature.

Uncarved back except for small mark





Phoenix and bi are iconic wen wu (cultural relics)  from China.

Phoenix on a bi



 Update August 2019  For a similar off-centre bi with carving see Freer and Sackler website.



Beaded Baubles winking at the Brim.....

.....and purple stained rim....

In a moment of idleness I composed this mini flower arrangement which made me think of Keats' Ode to a Nightingale

 

with beaded baubles winking at the brim



 The pot is a jade archers' ring filled with purple glass seed beads to hold the 2 handmade beaded daisies.

 

archers' ring



purple glass seed beads



handmade beaded daisies

 

 

....O for a beaker full of the warm South!
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stainèd mouth...... Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

Jade on the Shells 2nd Installment

After a sumptuous seafood meal at Rung Fu Ji Seafood Steam Pot  I've gotten myself a bagful of  bigger shells  than those shown on my earlier post of  Jade on the Shells *

Oyster and scallop shells

 

Armed with these larger shells, I have gone on to rearrange the display shown on my earlier post. Here are the pictures of my new theme Jade on the Bigger Shells.

 

Jade on the Scallop Shells showcase interesting composition of  jade and pearls



The scallop shell on the left has 7 tiny carved jade frogs perched amidst 13 apple green jade stones. The shell on right has a combination of various oval shaped vintage jade stones and freshwater pearls.



 

The shells are the placed upright  on  rosewood plate stands.

 

 

Rosewood plate stands

 

Shells stand out on rosewood stands



 

The large oyster shell  below is a perfect fit for 8 delicate emerald green pieces of antique jade (which were previously displayed on 2 smaller shells.)

 

 

extra large oyster shell



It has been a fun exercise !

 see also Jade on the Shells 1st Installment

In celebration of archaic jade birds

A Chinese dealer sold me this group of 13 jade bird pendants  and  said they were from the Shang dynasty (16th-11th century BC)  My personal, if inexpert opinion is that they could date from Shang to Xi Zhou period (1046-771 BC) as these bird forms continue to be produced into 771 BC.

 

13 jade bird pendants







Lest I be accused of misattribution I must hasten to add that none of the birds have been authenticated by any authority/expert. I don't know how clever forgers are these days or what are the red flags in these small pieces.  However in support of their antiquity I would name several positive if general attributes such as presence of  tool marks and traces of cinnabar, carving style is of the period, and  patina and age of the stone appear genuine

The group of  13 birds consists of a pair of swans, 4 geese, 3 parrots, 2  flat mouth birds, one swallow and the last and smallest is one  which I cannot really identify. The birds are well carved with prominent beaks and have bodies decorated with simple cloud scrolls and raised lines. The nephrite jade is mostly altered to white.

 

 Five of the birds in the group belong to the waterfowl family and display elegant curved necks.

Swans and geese belong to waterfowl family



Swans are symbols of beauty and they mate for life. It is no wonder they are usually shown in pairs like the ones below. The swans measure 4.1 x 2cm.

 

Swans mate for life and come in pairs

2 of the geese  are carved as flat pieces while   the bottom piece , slightly bigger, is carved in the round with traces of cinnabar all over its body. They display the flexibility of their necks with a charming backward turning pose.

 

3 geese showing off their graceful necks



The gosling is cute, has an elongated beak and a  stringing hole pierced through its body.

 

Little gosling, not an ugly duckling.



This pair of birds, one taller than the other,  with short, flat mouths (beaks) and short stubby legs, are also interesting.  Both have holes bored through their beaks. I wonder what bird species is being depicted. Is it an owl ? Owl carvings were popular during Shang times.

2 birds with short beaks



The 3 parrots have arched backs, crests and curved beaks. The  two bigger parrots have holes for eyes and also holes at the feet. The small  parrot  is pierced  through the body.

A trio of parrots

 

The swallow with folded wings look like its descending from a height.

Swallow descending



It is pierced below the neck for stringing as a pendant.  Despite extensive pockmarks and corrosion on its body it is still an attractive piece (in my eyes)

Last and least (in size) is this little charmer which I am not even sure its a bird. Are those paws or wings that are clasped together ? It has a tail and the hole is bored through the clasped wings or paws.
It measures all of 1.8 x 0.9 cm.

 

Is this bird or animal ?



To sum up here are all the birds again highlighted with a touch of glowing light.

 

Birds with a long history