Some of my favourite things

Some of my favourite things....

Purple turtle on golden sand

Wee bird soars high on fragile wings

And a cool cicada that sweetly sings....

my favourite things

...these are some of my favourite beady things that I'd like to share during this season.

All three creatures are beads and have perforations for stringing. They may date as far back as the Pyu dynasty (around 2nd century BC to 11th century AD) and comes from Myanmar.  Here's a closer look at each of them starting from the amethyst  turtle.

Very tiny turtle measures 2 cm in length

Next is the rose quartz bird 

Height of rose quartz bird 1.5cm

Last the cool cicada is also made from rose quartz

Height of cicada 2cm

And to wish beaders and collectors all over the world a Merry Christmas and Beadiful New Year, I have decorated pine cones with assorted beads and topped them with one ancient jade (rein)Deer.

Happy  Jade Collecting and Beading Season

Little green deer from Xizhou dynasty or later sends greetings

DARK GREEN GLASS BEADS NECKLACE

This attractive dark green beads' necklace is another junk store purchase. It has a large central bead with 36 smaller  beads

Necklace of dark green beads and a larger central  bead

At a glance the dark green beads resemble jade but are actually made of glass.

Not jade looks more like glass

Could this be a 1920s necklace ? Because the glass, on examination is not so well made and the bead ends show a whitish powdery substance, it may well be modern.  Nevertheless it does look rather attractive at a glance.

Could be modern beads

The large focal bead is different from the other beads and has a perforation on the underside. I wonder what is the purpose of this perforation which does not go through the entire bead. As can be seen from the enlargement the green glaze is also flaking off

a perforation in the largest bead.

Nevertheless it sits well on my old celadon vase.

Green bead necklace on old celadon vase.

A set of Small Jade Ornaments from the Liangzhu Culture 3300-2300BC

A set of ancient jade ornaments  comprising 10 tubular jade beads strung with turquoise beads, a small slit ring (jue), a small disc (bi)and a small huang. All purchased in Hangzhou and purportedly from the Liangzhu Culture (3300-2300 BC) The stone, patina, and shape of the items do resemble Liangzhu artefacts so there is a good chance that these are of the period. Also Hangzhou is the site of Liangzhu culture makes the possibility more likely.

Set of ancient jade ornaments

The ten tubular beads are interspersed with turquoise beads which may not be from the same timeline.

Ten tubular beads with turquoise beads

According to research the slit ring or jue (2.3cm)  on left is an ear ornament and are often strung with the bi disc (2cm) on right and huang below

Slit ring (jue) and small bi (disc)

The small arch shaped huang measures 5cm and must have been part of a longer necklace. Each end of the huang is drilled with a hole and a groove.

Jade huang with hole and groove at both ends

The hole and groove at both ends may represent they eyes and mouths of a dragon. Later versions of  jade huangs have dragon carvings at both ends so this may be an early version. This is entirely my own conjecture.

Looks like an eye and a mouth

Unlike large ceremonial ritualistic objects  of the Neolithic period, these ornaments are small and minimalist but have a life of their own  If these beads and ornaments were exhibited in a museum, would they be arranged as below ?

Museum display

I don't have enough beads and ornaments to string into an elaborate strand but still managed to make quite a decent one. :)😊

Strung as a strand

4 Ancient Jade Plaques with Line Carving

Here are 4 jade plaques or pendants that had me intrigued

Mottled olive green jade infused with cloudy patina

The jade is a light olive green, infused with cloudy white patina which does not corrode the jade. Instead oddly it seems to enhance it. With white  patina blooming all over them I cannot help but guess they are ancient pieces but I cannot really identify the exact period or which Chinese cultural group they belong to.

Which dynasty and which Chinese cultural group?

Round shaped and measuring 3 cm  diameter, each plaque has  3 small holes drilled near the edge . Each piece has a carving of  mythical  animal on one side. The line carvings retain traces of cinnabar.  Not sure if these red lines are the remains of cinnabar or some dealer just outlined it in red to make the drawings stand out. I have soaked the pieces in soapy water and the red lines have not disappeared. The reverse side is plain.

No Carvings on the back

To show  a better view I have lined up the following enlargements

Dragon

Phoenix

Snake wrapped round a turtle

Lion

To add to the mystery each plaque is also very thin. What tools were used to carve these mythological animals without damaging the delicate jade. Or are these jade of younger vintage, although patina says otherwise. Another possibility,  were drawings newly added using modern tools ?

Finally, were they used as pendants, or worn as belts, strung as chatelaines or hung as part of a veil ??

Whatever, their history or vintage, I would still find them attractive and collectible.

Very collectible !

Lunar New Year of the Dog 2018

To usher in Year of the Dog 2018 I have assembled 9 Doggies from my collection. Here are the first 3 which hail from different periods of Chinese culture or history  bearing auspicious greetings on them.

 pottery dogs with auspicious greetings

Spotted dog on the right from Cizhou kilns of Song dynasty (960-1279 AD)  In the centre dog with black nose likely from 19th century  and brown dog on left may date as far back as Chinese prehistory.


More doggie themes on snuff bottles  and one carved from rock crystal shown below. Strictly speaking these three are not mine but borrowed from Heng.

More doggie themes  for Year if the Dog

I could not find a single bead with dog motif  but manage to unearth 2 jade pendants with carvings of dogs

White jade pendants with dog carving.

Little Sophie my granddaughter has loaned me her gold hair toy dog to wish blog reader's good health and peace for CNY 2018

Gold Hair toy dog welcomes Year of the Dog 2018

And here is little Sophie's version of Welcome to  Spring (Chun Jie)

Sophie's Song of Spring