hair ornament

Woman's crosspiece hair ornament, 'bian fang', made of nephrite in the shape of a 'ruyi' sceptre. It is decorated with two pierced lozenges and a bat design below the 'ruyi'-head. Each lozenge encloses a swastika symbol, a stylized 'wan' character representing ten thousand. Worn by a married Manchu woman, the crosspiece was thrust horizontally through a bun on top of her head.

See illustration on page 66 of Verity Wilson: Chinese Dress. 1986. Victoria and Albert Museum Press.

Collection Information

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