A set of woman's silver festival ornamentation from the Miao People, eastern Guizhou Province, China. The Miao nationality is one of China's major ethnic groups. There are more than 5 million Miao people distributed mainly over Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hubei Provinces. Silver ornamentation is important for the matriarchal and matrilineal Miao. The female children are the treasures of the community and families spare no expense in order that great quantities of intricately crafted jewelry and ornaments are available for the girls and women to wear during the showy festivals during the yearly ritual cycle. The more silver a woman wears, the more beautiful she is thought to be. There are reports of the total weight of silver worn by some women during certain festivals to exceed 9 kilograms. The wearing of silver as a manifestation of protective light has been traditionally thought to help the woman avoid evil, dispel demonic forces, and insure her safety in a dangerous world. This set weighs in total approximately 2 pounds, 12 ounces and consists of a headdress, heavy coiled necklace, and lighter, hollow chest decoration which is suspended around the neck with a substantial chain ending in two butterfly hooks. Other Miao talismanic motifs evident in this set include bells, oval tinklers, disks, dragons, lions, fish, horse riding ancestors and Immortals, and a number of complex floral designs. This set has been worn by a Miao and shows some wear and denting, though the set remains entire in almost every detail. Obtained in China in 1994. For reference and further information see CLOTHINGS AND ORNAMENTS OF CHINA'S MIAO PEOPLE, edited by The Cultural Palace of Nationalities, Beijing, China, 1985.

Price:$850.00
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