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A Chinese kingfisher feather floral hair pin on gildedbrass
CONDITION:good vintage condition with expected wear for this item
SIZE:5½ x 3 ins decorative part 1½ ins (14 x 7.5 x 4 cm)
APPROXIMATEDATE: 1900s
MATERIALS:gilded brass, kingfisher feather
DESCRIPION:
Hereis a very beautiful Chinese antique hair pin in a traditional leaf and floraldesign. The foundation of the ornament is in polished brass with two longstraight tines to hold it firmly in the hair. The design is formed into cellswhich are intricately laid with kingfisher feathers.
One issue with this kind of hair accessory is that they areextremely delicate and are seldom found in perfect condition. This one is infairly good condition. With only minor wear.
During the Qing dynasty in Chinahigh ranking ladies favoured a large elaborate hair pins which were oftendecorated with kingfisher feathers. These ornaments were usually made of gildedbrass, the most commonly used patterns being flower sprays and various animalssuch as butterflies, bats and sea birds. The ornaments were made with smallcells, similar to those found in Western enamel jewellery. However instead ofenamel the spaces were filled with tiny cut out pieces of the beautifuliridescent blue kingfisher feathers.
The feathers were painstakingly cut to exact size to fitseparate metal sections, and carefully attached with thin adhesive so theyretained brilliant colour and iridescence. This jewel like mosaic was oftencombined with semi precious materials such as pearls, jade, coral andturquoise. In the lesser pieces glass jewels and faux pearl beads were used.
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