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| Re: Susan Dods collection of Mandarin hat buttons + more bells with Chinese glass finials -- beadiste | Post Reply | Edit | Forum | Where am I? | |
Mail author02/21/2015, 10:52:47
Around the end of the 19th century, China began to incorporate the buttons into miniature bells for export. The button formed the handle above a two-inch tall porcelain-covered metal bell, which used a small glass bead on a chain as a clapper. Today both the buttons and the bells are collector's items.
Source: Pitt Rivers Museum Body Arts | Mandarins' buttons
Related link: http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php/body-arts-and-lifecycles/adulthood/104-mandarins-buttons.html