A PAIR OF CHINESE JADE DROP HOOP EARRINGS, SET ON SILVER, 19TH/20TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A PAIR OF CHINESE JADE DROP HOOP EARRINGS, SET ON SILVER, 19TH/20TH CENTURY The pair is formed with pale Chinese jade hoops suspended from silver mounts, each earring arranged as a long pendant with a small domed stud, articulated chain, metal collar, and two interlinked jade rings below. The jade is softly translucent, of creamy white tone, and cut into smooth rounded loops whose polished surfaces give a gentle play of light against the darker metal fittings. The design depends on a refined contrast between material and movement. The silver chains introduce a linear vertical rhythm, while the jade hoops provide weight, curvature, and visual balance at the base of each pendant. The larger lower loops are generously rounded, their simple circular form allowing the quality and translucency of the stone to remain the principal decorative feature. As earrings, the pair would have been worn suspended from the ear, the linked hoops moving freely with the wearer. This sense of articulation is central to the composition: the chains, collars, and jade rings together create a cascade of connected forms, combining personal adornment with the tactile appeal associated with carved jade jewellery. In Chinese culture jade carried long-standing associations with refinement, virtue, purity, and status. By the 19th and early 20th century, jade jewellery of this kind formed part of a broader tradition of personal ornament in which the material itself conveyed cultural meaning as much as decorative effect. The use of silver mounts further reflects the adaptation of older jade forms into wearable jewels suited to changing fashions. Elegant in construction and restrained in ornament, the pair combines the symbolic prestige of jade with the lightness and movement of silver-mounted pendant jewellery. Length: 7cm Diameter of Larger Loop: 2cm

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