Page 311 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

JEWELLERY. 89

For jewellery of more decorative character the Chinese employ
most of the technical methods known in the west, and supplement
the simple tools at their command by an infinite patience and
dexterity. Thus plates are pressed in moulds, hammered in
repousse style, carved in elaborate openwork designs, and finished
with the graving tool, to be fashioned into earrings, hair-pins,
and the many other articles of personal adornment in which
Chinese women and children delight. Manchn and Chinese
ladies adopt distinctive styles, especially in the accessories of
their head-dress, and there are many restrictions prescribed by
sumptuary laws, which are known only to the initiated.
In the art of filigree work the Chinese jeweller has attained such
proficiency as to make it in some degree distinctive of the country.
This is occasionally executed in gold, as in the bracelet fashioned
in the likeness of two serpents illustrated in Fig. 105 : but more
commonly in silver gilt, the gilding being added to prevent tarnish-
ing as well as for show. An effective addition to the filigree work
is an inlay of the accompanying details with the turquoise-tinted
plumes of the king-fisher (fci-ts'ui), which is almost peculiar to
China : its chief objection being its want of durability, the side
plumes of the feathers being only gummed on to the thin plates
prepared for the purpose, so that they quickly wear off.
Enamelling is a more durable combination than feather work,
and this also is widely practised. The dark blue vitrifiable enamel
obtained from the native cobaltiferous ore of manganese is a fav-
ourite inlay for silver objects, the pale turquoise blue afforded by
copper being more used with gold, but both tints are sometimes
combined in one scheme of decoration. Another special branch
of the enameller's art consists in the preparation of imitation
stones and jewels in coloured iiuxes of appropriate tint, which so
often take the place of real stones in Chines6 jewellery.
Precious stones, when they are used, are not cut in facets, they
are merely polished and set en cabochon. The gems, and the pearls,