LATE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A VERY RARE IMPERIAL GOLD, PEARL AND JADEITE INLAID ALOESWOOD HAIRPIN, BIANFANG
LATE QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
The spatulate fragrant wood hairpin, inlaid on one side with six stylised Shou, Longevity, characters embellished with jadeite, seed pearls and gold granule florettes, separated by a panel carved in low relief with the Eight Daoist Emblems, Anbaxian, with further carvings of stylised bats, enhanced througout with gold wire, all within an inlaid gold filigree border, the reverse carved with a continuous motif of Wan, representing the wish for multiple blessings, together with a white brass box engraved with the characters, Fu Lu Shou, 'Blessings, Emolument and Longevity', between floral sprays
12 3/4 in. (32.3 cm.) long

Provenance

Previously sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Imperial Sale, 27 April 1997, lot 95

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Lot Essay

The bianfang was part of the qi tou, the headdress of Manchu ladies of rank. They were worn across the top of the headdress to stiffen the frame. Gold inlaid wood seems to have been a speciality of the Qing court, and the present example is probably part of a set of adornments which include matching bracelets such as the pair in the present sale, lot 1366, and the pair in the National Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Qingdai Fushi Zhanlan Tulu, Qing Dynasty Costume Accessories, Taipei, 1986, p. 254, no. 238. A related aloeswood bianfang with a different design is illustrated, ibid., p. 217, no. 182.

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