Vintage White Jade Prunus Blossom Carved Pendant
We present here a uniquely appealing vintage pendant. This is an intricately hand-carved pendant in the style of a Chinese Snuff Bottle. It is carved in White Nephrite Jade with an all-over flowering Prunus or Plum Tree hand-carved design. The Plum Blossom, Prunus Mume, is also known as the meihua (梅花), and is one of the most beloved flowers in China. The Plum Blossom symbolizes perseverance and hope, as well as beauty, purity, and the transitoriness of life. In Confucianism, the Plum Blossom symbolizes the principles and values of virtue.
This pendant comes to us in prestigious Bailey, Banks, and Biddle (BBB) packaging. We are told by the estate that the pendant was acquired there in the mid 1950s/early 1960s when BBB brokered estate pieces from their stores. By packaging style, and pendant physical and aesthetic characteristics, we confidently date to that timeframe, which would also correspond to the post-war artisan boom.
We provided only light preservation cleaning to the Jade to protect the patina. Should the new owner wish a deeper clean, there appears to be no staining that could not be removed by a gentle fine jewelry cleaning solution.
The pendant features a Malachite stopper which has been banded and affixed with an 18k Yellow Gold bail. It measures ~4cm x 2.1cm x 1.8cm with a weight of ~13 grams. It is suspended from a 14k Singapore Twist style chain measuring ~18" in length and weighing ~4 grams. The estate indicates this chain was a later addition, replacing a smaller chain original to the pendant.
Ref:25949