Jade Leis

I have found yet another use for my miscellaneous jade charms. By attaching them to a vintage silver chain,  a " jade lei" is formed.

Jade Lei composed of jade charms or amulets

According to wikipedia a lei is defined as :

Lei is a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together ... Often the composition of a lei determine the meaning behind a lei; a lei made using a hala fruit for instance is said to be connected to love, desire, ... etc 

For me the meaning behind my jade lei is just my love for jade, and here's a closeup look at my lucky charms.

close up of  charms on lei

The second lei I made mostly from white and off white pieces of vintage jade.

jade lei 2 on qing dynasty silver chain

Although carved from   lower quality jade  the charms in the second lei are no less interesting. An eclectic assortment of jade charms including  animals and insects,  as fish, rabbit, cicada and several  fruits, a hand and a fan are represented in the closeup below.

an assortment of jade charms from fan to hand

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