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.



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

A Handful of Jade Rosettes

These  whimsical little jade rosettes also called yu-hua or jade flowers, date  from  late Qing (19th to about early 20th century)



Antique yu-hua

 

Although the rosettes are made from thin and small pieces of jade they are well shaped with attention to detail. The 12 flower blossoms are carved as rosettes with 5 petals radiating from a raised centre which incorporates  a hole. As all the pieces have only one central perforation I suspect these are likely to be hairpin components rather than buttons. 

 

likely to be hairpin components

 

Here's a circular arrangement  of 8 flowers see picture below

 

 

Circular arrangement of 8 rosettes 



 Four of the jade flowers have rounded concave petals  which have been painstakingly carved to give a scoop or tea spoon like appearance.

 

 

each petal resembles a scoop



  The largest yu-hua measures 1.4cm and the smallest 0.9cm

 

 

Largest and smallest of the floweres

 

There are 5 delicate protrusions at the petal's edge of the next flower which measures all of 1.3 cm

 

  

Spiked at the edge with delicate protrusions

 

It's a delight to hold these century old, tender jade blossoms in the palm of my hand.

 

A handful of jade flowers









BESPOKE BRACELET

 

Here's a modest handmade bracelet I knotted for casual wear. Though it calls for no great skills, more like child's play, making them is really a labor of love as each knot has to be individually tied. Maybe that is why knotted bracelets are called Friendship Bracelets as each knot is tied with love.

 

Friendship Bracelet



This bracelet is made using the simple chevron knot and six strands of  embroidery floss. 

 

 

chevron pattern



 

For the closing I have used an antique jade button as a clasp.

 

 

Jade button as clasp



 

 The little jade button can double as an ornament on the wrist side.

 

 

Jade button doubles as decoration



 

The versatile little jade button is also hand carved. 

 

 

Carved by jade master, ages ago.



 

This uniquely crafted bracelet combining handmade knots with an antique jade button really makes it one of a kind. I daresay  after searching through the net that there are not many around which makes it both original and bespoke !

 

So Bespoke !

 



 

 





Jade on the Shells

 

 

I got these very attractive, tiny pieces of antique jade from old Shanghai many years ago.

 

Lao keng or old mine jadeite



Although amazingly thin, each piece is carved with intricate pattern of coin, flower or knot. The color is an attractive emerald green and is likely to be lao keng or old mine jadeite.

 

Coin shaped buttons



 

Carved as flowers



 

 

Eternal knot

Each piece is razor thin, the thinness almost  like jade  'to airy thinness beat...' . The largest flower measures 2 cm across.

Razor thin, "like gold to airy thinness beat..."

 

I am not sure what function they served in antiquity but I guess it must be to do with ladies accessories, be it hairpin, brooch, coronet or even as inlays for powder/jewellery boxes.

     



Jade on the Shells



For my present pleasure, I stuck them on scallop shells from my favourite sushi place, Itacho Sushi, to come up with this rustic Jade on the Shells display.
  





Quietly Meditating.....

below the bell n the beads



Stillness and tranquillity.....



The bronze bell dates to the  Ming emperor Wan Li (1572-1582) The strand consists of rock crystal and coral beads from Myanmar, Indonesia and China. The little jade scholar of unknown age and period comes from China and measures 7.5cm x 4 cm.

 

 

What enigmatic thoughts!
 





A close up of the strand of beads





The antique melon shaped crystal bead is from China.

 

LUNAR NEW YEAR OF THE SNAKE 2013

 

 

 

 

To greet Chun jie 2013 I composed this little jade snake picture from my cache of flat jade plaques. The head has a carving of a heron while the body is made up of the auspicious characters Fu meaning blessings. The tail is of a fruit with leaves.

Madam White Snake and Her aide Little Green Snake is also here to welcomes Lunar New Year of the Snake !

 



A pair of charmers



There are not many  snake objects in my collection but I did manage to turn up this charming pair. White snake on the left measures 3.5cm by 2 cm while the little curled up bundle on right measures 2cm by 0.9cm.

As the reverse of both jades have the prosperity symbol of a coin, they must have been made for lunar new year purpose.



green snake has the prosperity symbol of a carved coin on the back of its head.

prosperity coin symbol scratched on the reverse of white snake

Butterflies and flowers are also emblems of good luck for the new year as shown in my next jade picture.

 

 

Its New Year's Eve 2013, and life is great again ! May the  charming         2 0 1 3   S n a k e    slither in with blessings of health and happiness and most importantly, bring me Yu x2 ! Yu  as in abundance and Yu as in jade :)

A Rainbow in the Sky

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety. by william wordsworth.

Thanks A. for sending me this Rainbow of Hope It is indeed a beautiful work of nature and I am glad to use it to mark new beginings and old endings to my blog. Thanks too to WW for this unforgettable verse to lighten up my quiet Musings.

Look out for more frolic with jade, manao, crystal, turquoise. glass, braids, knots, beads, hairpins, animals and other little wonders.........

Green Glass Beads & White Jade Split Ring Necklace

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases

It will never pass into nothingness

but still will keep, a bower quiet for us,

and a sleep, full of sweet dreams,

and health, and quiet breathing.

I don't know what Keats had in mind when he wrote these words but this verse sure applies to my milleniums old white jade piece and my centuries old emerald green glass beads. This necklace combines my love of jade and glass beads.

The white jade in the shape of a slit ring was purchased in Southern Vietnam. I guess its vintage to be from the Sa Huynh culture of Southern Vietnam,(1000BC-200AD) and according to research, such rings were used as earrings by the natives of that long ago culture. This type of earring must have been pretty widespread in Vietnam as they have also been discovered at contemporary Dong Son(1000 BC) culture sites of Northern and Central Vietnam. Moreover they are also similar to the jade "jue" earrings already in use in neolithic China from as far back as 4500BC and this form of Chinese culture must have filtered down into Vietnam. Apologies for the long winded historical stuff. I try to depict my treasured pieces light heartedly but as this blog also serves as documentation for my collection, it has to fit in a few crusty facts too. I am intrigued by how these slit rings can fit into the earlobes of neolithic and bronze age man or is it woman ? How could it be secured ? Did these man or woman pierce their ears or were these rings simply clipped on ? What manner of garments, robes or hairstyles accompanied these ear ornaments ?? Hmm.... so many unaswered questions!! In my humble, 21st century opinion, I think such rings look better as pendants like the one conceived in my post !! (blush!)

The green glass beads on this necklace are also from Southern Vietnam but may have originated in China. These beads are young when compared to the jade ring, only at most 500-200 years ago. The emerald green beads contrast well with the lustrous white jade.