Chinese Jade and Zitan Wood Ruyi Sceptre with Carvings
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries. - Zitan Wood - Zitan is the most expensive, and since ancient times, has been considered the most precious of woods.
Zitan wood is the hardest and heaviest of all hardwoods. It is purplish-black to black in colour, and with a grain so dense it is virtually invisible.
Zitan can usually only be obtained in quite narrow strips and so it is rare to find large pieces of furniture made from this wood. True Chinese rosewood is a variety of zitan and is very rare.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
French porcelain painted gilt metal mounted tazza in the Sevres style, decorated with a courting scene & floral panels, with a signature. Condition good, some tarnishing. Length 32 cm
Furstenberg ceramic chess pieces, King: 9.5 cm. Provenance: The collection of the late Dr Thomas James Valentine
An impressive colonial kauri painted box, the exterior painted with Maori kowhaiwhai designs in traditional red/black/white tones, the painting is contemporary with the age of trunk, iron side handles, plinth base, the interior painted deep cream with two
A pair of Cenedese Murano glass aquarium bookends, Italian, circa 1960, 17 cm high, 14 cm wide