Chinese Glass Ornaments 2

Blue Glass Ear Ornament

This sweet little blue glass thingy had been perplexing me ever since I bought it.

Neither pierced nor perforated, it is neither a bead nor a pendant  and is distinguished by a depression across the centre.

centre depression

The depression extends all the way to the back.

back view

It was purchased together with other Ming glass ornaments discussed in previous post. A more savvy collector could have guessed its use easily, but not an ignoramus like me !

Now thanks to Zhong Guo Gu Dai Bo Li Jian Shang Tu Lu,  I know  for sure that its an ear ornament. Here's how it could have been used originally:

Hah ! Mystery solved and case concluded :)

My only regret is it didn't prove to be as "rare and mysterious" as I had imagined. The book only gave it a rating of 3+  which means there must be many pieces out there for the taking.

Chinese Glass Ornaments 1

Glass Flower Ornament/Huan

I purchased this glass ornament some years ago from my connoisseur  collector  friend  C.

All this while I thought it was a Yuan dynasty (AD 1279-1368) glass artifact, as claimed by seller,  backed by research from various books, and agreed by me .  However, my recent purchase of the Chinese publication "Zhong Guo Gu Dai Bo Li Jian  Shang Tu Lu"  has given me new insights into dates of the old Chinese glass in my collection. It looks like I have to revise  my opinion on this piece as well as those already posted in  earlier posts. *

"Zhong Guo Gu Dai  etc" is a very comprehensive record of Chinese glass with examples from Warring States to Qing dynasty. However the  bulk of the pieces shown in the book are concentrated on Ming glass ornaments. There are extensive examples and there is even a grading system for the rarity of each piece,  The grades given range from 1-9, with 1 being the low ranking common items while 9 is the nonepareil! So now I am busy grading my bits and pieces of Chinese glass, hoping to turn up a gem. Hehe!

My piece appears in the book and has a ranking of 7-  which I suppose is quite  good and rare. :)

Rare glass flower huan

It is described as a flower shaped huan which can be used as a Pei, dating to Ming Dynasty (AD1368-1644) I am gratified to learn its exact shape and use as I had previously been unable to figure out its shape and had vaguely conjectured that it resembles a belt buckle with some missing parts !

Here's another item of mine that has achieved  an even higher ranking, of  7+, so it must be quite , quite rare. It was previously posted under the title Blue Pendant with Buffalo Under the Moon

According to the book this pendant was made by the mo ya cheng xing or "mold pressed into shape method." The writer further asserts that the broken line at the bottom of the pendant was caused by a break in the mold as all such pendants carry the same broken line. Although his conclusion has cleared my queries about the broken line it raises other questions. Why could'nt they make a new mold instead of leaving the pendants in such a slip-shod state? Were molds so expensive to replace or were these pendants just cheap trinkets in those days rather than the prized possessions they are to to collectors of the present age?

My highest rated piece.

*  Here are the links to previous posts about other Chinese glass ornaments that need revision. All the pieces should now be re-dated to Ming AD 1368-1644.

A winter sonata necklace
Birds and Petals on a Vine of Coil Beads
Amulets, pendants and coil beads necklace
Blue Pendant with Buffalo Under the Moon
https://baiyu-quietmuse.blogspot.com/2007/09/blue-florets-and-pendant-beads-strand.html

Zhong Guo Gu Dai Bo Li Jian Shang Tu Lu was published in 2010.
ISBN 978-7-5398-1564-0