“Audience Chain” Four sets of 27 black beads separated by amethyst balls and strung on yellow silk cord constitute the front. Back: navy blue, stiff cord, first cased in embroidered red and white ribbon, then looped through a coin-shaped ring of brass, where they meet the lower double cord that runs through another amethyst ball as a red silk cord. Pendant starting from a third hole in this amethyst ball: three-tiered amethyst slide of decreasing width on red braided cord which runs into a black cotton braided tape (11 cm long), its other end looped through an eye in a filt-bronze plaque holding an oval turquoise. As usual, the tape-ends are secured by winding tri-colored threads around them: white - light blue - navy blue - white. Under the turquoise another black tape (16 cm long). Then a silver(?) wire ring secured by a red cord, a small crystal bead and a tear-drop shaped piece of pink quartz capped by a brass(?) bell-shaped cover. Two shoulder pendants are left on this chain. Strung on blue cords and emanating from coin-shaped rings are ten or nine, respectively, corals, the final pendants a smaller version of the pink crystal chain pendant (here grenadine and emerald, respectively). Overall length of chain: 117 cm.
Donor:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection place:
China
Verbatim coll. place:
Given to Ilse Fang by Erich Wolters, antique dealer. Manchu Dynasty 1644-1911 (Qing)
Culture or time period:
Manchu people and Qing dynasty (1644–1912 AD)
Collector:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection date:
1945
Materials:
Amethyst, Brass (alloy), Bronze (metal), Coral (material), Cotton (textile), Crystal (material by form), Quartz (mineral), Silk, and Turquoise (mineral)