Matching Mum's Pearls with Xizhou Carnelian Disc Beads

Beautiful Beads are a Joy Forever !



Mum's vintage cultured pearls are  around 70 years old while  Xizhou carnelian disc beads are from the 11th century BC. Although several thousand years apart - still I think it worked and  they are well paired.

A Joy to Wear, A Memory to Treasure.







A String of Beads and Pendants from early Chinese History

Inspired by the elaborate necklaces of the Xizhou dynasty,(1046-771 BC) I have come up with my own modest strand  using  beads and pendants  from early periods of China's civilization.

 

Mostly Shang - Zhou beads and pendants



Patina, toolmarks and carving style on these beads and pendants (silkworms, phoenix, turtle shell, disc etc) point tentatively to Shang - Xizhou period (1600-771 BC)  and later.

The strand is made up of  a trapezoidal jade bead, 2 silkworms, a spherical carved bead, a bead of turtle shell carving, two  bamboo shape tube beads and a pair of cicadas interspersed with small carnelian disc beads.

Details of the components given below.

Picture below shows beads with three different shapes. From left spherical bead with c-shaped  motifs (1.4cm), flat turtle shell bead (1.5 x 1cm) and a trapezoidal bead with phoenix carving (2 x 1.5cm at the base)




Bead shapes are spherical, flat and trapezoidal





Next is a pair of silkworm pendants the left worm is 3 cm and right is 2.8 cm.

 

 

Pair of silkworms



A pair of  slender bamboo shaped tubes with left tube measuring 2.0cm x 0.5cm and right 2.3cm x 0.5 cm

 

Left tube is 2cmx0.5cm right tube is 2.3cm x0.5cm



Pair of cicadas measures approximately 1.5cm x 1.2cm and likely to be later than Xizhou period.

 



Pair of cicadas




The carnelian disc beads used as spacers are the hallmarks of many Xizhou necklaces.
 



Small discs measures approx. 1 cm across
 



These red discs also add a touch of color to the otherwise somber hues of my string.

 

Rosy carnelian beads add a touch of color

 



Trapezoidal Jade Bead with Phoenix Pattern

Here is a very special bead that I purchased recently.

 

Trapezoid Jade Bead with incised phoenix



This trapezoidal bead, measuring 2cm long and 1.5cm wide   at the base, has an image of  a phoenix incised  on both sides.

 

Close up

 

The phoenix decoration on my bead bears resemblance to those seen on various jade ornaments from the Xizhou dynasty (1027-771BC)  According to the publication Chinese Civilization in a New Light * the phoenix was regarded as  harbingers of good fortune. There is a legend that during the reign of King Wen the sound of phoenixes pierced the hills of his kingdom and  this was interpreted as an auspicious sign for the Xizhou dynasty. Arising from this legend, phoenix patterns on jade ornaments became very popular during this period. (see extract below)

 

about the legend of the phoenix



The book Xizhou Yu qi Jades of the Xizhou dynasty shows several examples of similar phoenix patterns carved on plaques, bis, peis, and jues. Most of these ornaments are of jade with three of glass.  Over at the Shanxxi Taiyuan Museum there is a jade jue with incised phoenix on display attributed to  Xizhou. All these are large items as compared to the one I show.

I am thrilled with the double bonus of owning this mystical bird on a bead and using it as a centerpiece to compose my dream bracelet! Teamed with my red Xizhou carnelian disc beads and three contrasting turquoise disc beads of the same period .....feels great to have a bit of history/art on my wrist.:)



My dream bracelet

a little bit of history....a little bit of art....

*Chinese Civilization in a New Light. ISBN7-5326-0834-4



An Ornament from the Past

 
         the le le

These little odd shaped beads ( should I call them beads because they have perforations ?) had me wondering for sometime about their origin and use. I had bought them from a seller who could only say "le le" by way of description and as I am not fluent in Chinese,  I was none the wiser. I did try the bi-lingual dictionaries but got not much help. For all I know he may be having me on !

6 funnel-shaped jade objects called Le le

The six dark color nephrite stones narrow from the middle with the bottom wider than the top, may be described as trumpet-shaped or funnel-shaped. Measuring around 2 cm, each piece is drilled from top to bottom and  the holes are small.  None of the pieces are  of the same height or size and each "le le" is partially covered with patina of age. The le les  are entirely plain with no surface decorations or carvings.

Here is a picture showing the bottom ends and looked at from this angle their shapes are reminiscent of the supertrees in our Garden by the Bay Park or even ancient toadstools from a jurassic park :)

 

bottoms up they look like ancient toadstools or supertrees!

Supertrees, Garden by the Bay Park

To learn more about their source and origin I searched through many publications on early jade and found some useful references and illustrations. In Roger Chow's book Sparkling Splendours there are similar funnel shaped objects in crystal and agate form. He has described them as ear ornaments and attributed them to Han dynasty(206 BC – 220 AD) On the other hand, in Jessica Rawson's Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing similar shaped  jade beads  were dated to Dong Zhou-Han dynasty (5th-2nd century BC)

However Rawson's examples are more than thrice the size and have elaborate carvings and large holes.   Size and decoration wise my le les (small size, plain and small holes) are more in keeping with the crystal and agate samples shown in Sparkling Splendors by Roger Chow. So I am more inclined to  to think they are ear ornaments dating from that period (Han)

As ear ornaments I guess they could have been set with gold and pearls, or strung with silk threads and the hole facilitates  attachment to the ear. Perhaps they were worn as dangle earrings  like the one I tried to recreate below ?

le le as earring

 

A le can also be used as a pei or accessory to be strung up with other beads/ornaments  to form a pectoral (chatelaine).I don't have enough ancient components to form a dramatic pectoral such as those shown in books. But here is my shot at making a mini pectoral, consisting of funnel shaped les, xizhou carnelian discs, one silkworm and one very old pearl bead.

 

mini pectoral

 

They also look nice strung with white calcite discs as a contrast.







strimg with carnelian and white calcite discs



Although  my les have no provenance I'll let the pieces speak for themselves :)

*Postscript:
Just got hold of the book Lazurite : a journey into ancient China. According to the book ear ornaments called er dang were fashionable with ladies of the Han era. These er dang were made in glass and were funnel shaped. The book shows many examples of these er dang or ear ornaments which have been attributed to Warring States and Han dynasty excavations.
 



Xizhou Carnelian (Manao) Disc Beads

Here's a richly red string of carnelian (manao) disc beads from the Xizhou Dynasty (1027-771BC)

There are numerous examples of these carnelian discs in Chinese and Western books. A string of  carnelian discs like mine, can be seen in Roger Chow's Sparkling Splendor, pg.90 which is attributed to the Xizhou Dynasty.

Carnelian discs also appear in the magnificient pectoral ensembles of Xizhou Dynasty. Many examples  are documented in the Chinese publication Zhonghua Wenming Chuan Zhen 2. on pg. 99,105,111,112,113.  However  carnelian discs were used only in supporting and contrasting roles  to hold  the more valuable jade congs, plaques, huangs, bis and the whatever important jades in place and to give color contrast.

Below is a picture of a Zhou jade pectoral exhibited at the Henan Museum. It shows an ensemble of carnelian discs sitting alongside jade huangs. Whee ! what a swinging chain fit for an emperor to strut around in.  Who else would go striding around with such a chain :) ?

In Zhou times the discs rosy hue must have made a striking contrast with the white nephrite huangs. For present day use I prefer to put them next to icy crystals.

 Manao and crystal

Although the carnelian discs maybe  generic and  unremarkable alongside the princely jade pieces, I am a sucker for their flaming color and their rich place in history.

Here is a favourite bracelet of mine using the discs together with slender jade tubes

Jade tubes are not so old and maybe at most only 50-100 years or less.