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108 Chinese carved bone beads
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Posted by: jrj Post Reply
08/24/2019, 00:13:59

I'm so excited with my new purchase that I thought I'd share it.

il_794xN_1981482720_qot8.jpg (102.0 KB)  il_794xN_1981482574_8ryl.jpg (88.3 KB)  


Modified by jrj at Sat, Aug 24, 2019, 00:18:25

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Qiulu pattern
Re: 108 Chinese carved bone beads -- jrj Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: redmountain Post Reply
08/24/2019, 02:42:11

means five circles together
probably for export 19-20th century



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Carved bone beads from Susan Dod's website
Re: Qiulu pattern -- redmountain Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: jrj Post Reply
08/24/2019, 16:26:14

I haven't received them yet, but I was hoping they were court necklace beads.

From Susan Dod's website:

"The (court necklace) beads are precious and semiprecious stones, most of them elaborately carved. Enameled metal and carved seeds or wood were also used. Choice of stone was predetermined by rank and only the emperor and his family were permitted to wear eastern pearls, coral, lapis and tourmaline….and later the newly discovered Burma jadeite. Officials of lower rank were permitted other materials such as carved seeds and nuts. These necklaces appeared in court from 1644-1911.

The necklace is 108 matched beads divided into four sections by three larger(25-30mm)beads (fouou or head bead) and one other large bead in a gourd shape (fodouda or Buddha head) that hung down the back to act as a counterweight. The head bead leads to a flat woven tape then a large pendant and finally a gemstone drop. Three additional strings of 10 smaller beads terminate in gemstone drops with enameled silver caps…"

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Question about determining the material used for a necklace cord
Re: Carved bone beads from Susan Dod's website -- jrj Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: jrj Post Reply
09/07/2019, 19:42:02

One of Susan Dod's consultants told her the cord used for carved bone court necklace beads like this was reeled and plied silk thread drawn simultaneously from multiple silk worm cocoons. I'm including a picture of this multi-ply thread from Susan Dod's blog on the left. On the right, is a detail of my necklace. The material used in my necklace is a multi-ply thread with fewer plys than Susan Dod's. The multi-ply cord of my necklace is longer than needed for the existing 108 beads and badly knotted. I was wondering how I might determine if the multi-ply cord of my necklace is silk? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Susan Dod's picture is pictured on the top. My necklace is on the bottom.

Susan_Dods_sild_thread_1.jpg (42.3 KB)  jrj_09062019_2.jpg (135.1 KB)  


Modified by jrj at Sat, Sep 07, 2019, 19:44:16

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Larger image
Re: Question about determining the material used for a necklace cord -- jrj Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: jrj Post Reply
09/07/2019, 19:47:28

jrj_09062019_3.jpg (146.9 KB)  


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Mandarin Necklaces
Re: Question about determining the material used for a necklace cord -- jrj Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Beadman Post Reply
09/07/2019, 20:28:17

In brief terms, this is what I can tell you.

The Chinese did not like the Manchus who ruled the Xing Dynasty. And they did not (supposedly) really enjoy the required dress and bead ensembles that State Officials (Mandarins) were required to wear. Once the Manchus were out of power, the Chinese stopped wearing these things. Many many Court-style necklaces were disposed of. Many were taken apart, and stored.

Much later, when someone realized that Count necklaces could be a collectible item, and knowing that few intact pieces remained, it became a challenge to recreate "Court necklaces" from stored parts. This included the various beads, drops, cloud beads, counting beads—and EVEN THE CORDS OR LINES (!).

Consequently many ersatz "Court necklaces" were reconstructed from disparate parts. Often enough, parts that would not have been together originally. It was not unusual to find that these necklaces had been strung on original fibers (including nice flat woven tapes); OR were strung onto lines that resembled the originals.

And, by the way, "Court necklaces" were also made using beads that would not have been available in the Xing Dynasty—such as Boshan factory-made beads, that are very nice, but not like any Court beads.

You can burn "silk lines" to determine if they are silk. They will tend to smolder rather than burn easily, and give an organic burning aroma. The closest thing to silk is rayon. (Rayon is actually "artificial silk.") When you burn rayon it melts and makes a synthetic aroma.

Jamey



Modified by Beadman at Sat, Sep 07, 2019, 20:30:47

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Thank you!
Re: Mandarin Necklaces -- Beadman Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: jrj Post Reply
09/08/2019, 18:16:27

I stumbled across the information in the first post below when conducting research for a non-bead topic. I didn’t save the catalog references since they weren’t pertinent to my research; however, today, in a quick search of the Internet Archive (IA), I located the references (included after the post) to court jewelry and personal ornament that survived disassembly; there may be other such references on the IA.

Just wondering if my carved bone string of beads could be one such piece. Admittedly, the necklaces in the first catalog listed below are precious stones, not bone...

01/13/2018 post entitled “Limited edition of the shop sign book; however...” in discussion of traditional bead shop signs, in or near Beijing, c. 1930s-40s:
“A note, the sign in the colored plate is labeled "glass bead" sign. I wonder if only glass beads were sold in the shop or the label refers to the glass beads used in the sign. Seems likely to be the former. I found a few auction catalogs from the 1920s-30s containing court necklaces (no pictures, though). This suggests that some necklaces composed of the more precious beads were collected in the early Republic?”

Today, after a quick check of the Internet Archive, these references were located:

Illustrated catalogue of the important collection of antique Chinese porcelains, Sung and Ming potteries, ancient stone sculptures, carved jades and other hard stones, snuff bottles, Mandarin necklaces,... American Art Association; Lee, Van Ching; et al. 1917.
https://archive.org/details/liu-31289009872427/page/n23
Mandarin Necklaces, p. 24 (photograph on p. 25), 35-36, 46-47.

Catalogue of a very important collection of antique oriental art objects. Fifth Avenue Auction Rooms (New York, N.Y.). 1917.
https://archive.org/details/catalogueofveryi00fift/page/n61
Court ladies hair ornaments and head dresses.



Modified by jrj at Sun, Sep 08, 2019, 18:18:09

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