A rare example of Peking glass created to emulate turquoise. The egg shaped charm is set with a handmade solid silver band and finished with a silver jump ring.
Curator’s note
This appealing charm would have been made in Beijing at the height of the Peking glass industry, during the mid 1800s. The layered glass was easier to work with than gemstones like turquoise and jade, which it replicated.
The speckled effect and clear layers visible on this pendant clearly mark this out as an earlier antique example and the use of the Chinese materials in the form of an egg, which was popular among Western consumers as a symbol of fertility and rebirth suggest this was made for the export market at the time.
Details:
Hallmarks: No hallmarks, tests as silver.
Date: Victorian circa 1860
Size and weight: 2.2cm by 1.5cm, 6.3 grams
Condition: Excellent antique condition.
A rare example of Peking glass created to emulate turquoise. The egg shaped charm is set with a handmade solid silver band and finished with a silver jump ring.
Curator’s note
This appealing charm would have been made in Beijing at the height of the Peking glass industry, during the mid 1800s. The layered glass was easier to work with than gemstones like turquoise and jade, which it replicated.
The speckled effect and clear layers visible on this pendant clearly mark this out as an earlier antique example and the use of the Chinese materials in the form of an egg, which was popular among Western consumers as a symbol of fertility and rebirth suggest this was made for the export market at the time.
Details:
Hallmarks: No hallmarks, tests as silver.
Date: Victorian circa 1860
Size and weight: 2.2cm by 1.5cm, 6.3 grams
Condition: Excellent antique condition.
