Antique 19th C Chinese Carved Nut Silver Enamel Mandarin Court Necklace Chao Zhu For Sale

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chinese enamel & carved nut mandarin court necklace charity sale … This lot consists of an antique Chinese 19th century Mandarin Court necklace. The body of the necklace measures approx. 66 to 68 inches long and the necklace measures about 49 inches long from end to end when laid flat. The carved nut prayer beads average 14mm and the enamel decorated head beads measure 27mm. The enamel counting beads average 11mm and the counter weight measures 42mm high and 48mm wide. The enamel pieces (counter weight prayer and head beads) tested positive for sterling silver in an acid test. The necklace is made from 108 hand carved seeds (nuts), 3 large enameled silver beads and 1 large enameled silver bead and gourd. The counter weight is double sided and the main drop is enameled silver with glass pearl. There are two complete sets of ten enameled silver counting beads with matching drops and a partial set of five beads with a missing drop (there are an additional two counting beads in fair condition and three more beads that are crushed).

The major feature of the necklace is the rare double sided enameled sterling silver counter weight with the depiction of two yellow spotted deer. It portrays an adult deer showing a younger deer the fungus of immortality (Lingzhi) ...it is very auspicious and can symbolize success especially related to scholarship and good fortune in achievement. The other feature is the unique inscription concealed in the Buddha Head and gourd… The characters appear to be (see photo above):

The first is 唐 or Tang in pinyin ...

The second is 王 or WANG in pinyin.

The third is 成 or CHENG in pinyin.

This piece is the result of a collaborative restoration project from the Susan Dods Privatecollection website. The process is fully documented and the links are provided below. The Necklace was found disassembled and has been restored as close to the original as possible without the replacement or addition of any of the beads or enamel ware. New red silk tram was necessary to string the counting beads and some of the wrappings were recreated in order to restore the piece to wearable, usable condition. All of the original 108 carved nut beads are intact. one of the beads ( towards the back of the necklace) has a hole in the side but the others appear to be fine. Some of the enamel pendant drops have missing enamel. The large center enamel drop has significant loss but is original to the piece. The wrappings that hold the carved beads to the enamel gourd have been recreated and the wrapping below the counter weight are new as well. All of the other wrapping and beads are original. All of the pieces from the necklace (wrappings crushed beads and tram) will be shipped with the necklace. No beads or enamel ware have been replaced. All original materials that have been replaced are included with the necklace.

Please view photos for condition and feel free to ask any questions prior to offerding. I will be adding additional photos during the sale listing. If you need to see something just ask. Please read the information in the links below (this is an informational website. There are no items offerd for sale on the PrivateCollection site). This necklace was found in Newton Centre, MA and the provenance confirmed by PrivateCollection. It is featured in the article "Out of the Attic" on the PrivateCollection website (see links below).

The Restoration of this rare 19th century Mandarin Court Necklace (Chao Zhu) was featured in PrivateCollection’s article “Out of the Attic”

All net proceeds from this charity sale will go to the Northumberland Hills Hospital.

On May-03-13 at 08:11:45 PDT, seller added the following information:

All of the original wrappings, beads and tram will be shipped with the necklace.

This item has been shown 572 times. Antique 19th C Chinese Carved Nut Silver Enamel Mandarin Court Necklace Chao Zhu: $2,136