An amber and jadeite court necklace, chao zhu Qing dynasty, 19th century | 清十九世紀 琥珀翡翠朝珠

Collection of Colonel and Mrs Marcel Klepper (1882-1944), acquired during their stay in Beijing (1911-1917). Thence by family descent.

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Marcel Klepper上校(1882-1944)及夫人珍藏，其於1911年至1917年被派駐北京期間入藏

後家族流傳至今

The chaozhu was introduced as part of the official ceremonial attire by the Qing rulers, a design that was based on the Buddhist rosary such as the Ming example illustrated in Jewellery and Costumes of Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2000, pl. 195. The regulations were recorded in the Huangchao liqi tushi ('Illustrated Regulations for the Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Qing Dynasty') laying down all that concerns the 'proper' paraphernalia for the emperor and his court. Costume and jewellery are well represented in this manuscript for both men and women, starting with the emperor down through all the ranks of the imperial clan and the whole of the court and civil service. While the emperor's would wear four necklaces of different colours to suit the different types of occasions the emperor attended, the crown prince was allowed to use any semi-precious stones strung on apricot-yellow thread, the emperor's sons and imperial princes of the first degree would use amber with golden-yellow strings. The other members of the court would use any stone with blue-black thread.

Several chaozhu in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, were included in the museum's special exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Costume Accessories, Taipei, 1986, cat. nos. 54-58, made of gold, turquoise, amber, jade and fruit stone.