Bringing Heaven to Earth: Silver Jewellery and Ornament in the Late Qing Dynasty

The prowess of Chinese creative abilities in the decorative arts in the 19th and early 20th centuries was well known globally, but, while much has been written about Chinese textiles and on the influence of the East on European styles of the time, the story of the influence of Western formats and tastes on the manufacture of Chinese jewellery in the period has, amazingly, never been told.In examining 50 objects of exatraordinary quality from an important private North American collection, this book seeks to redress the situation and reveal the splendour of silver and silver-gilt jewellery of the late Qing dynasty. An ancient and sophisticated culture, the Chinese – who have since records begun made up about a quarter of world’s population – had almost everything they could need or want within their own borders … except for silver.The metal had long cultural, commercial and governmental associations but had to be imported largely from South America, after both national and Japan