A large and rare white jade 'nine phoenix' hairpin


18th centuryThe hairpin carved on one side in openwork with alternating phoenixes amongst floral scrolls, the reverse undecorated, with a floral form on one end, the stone of an even white tone with very minor opaque white inclusions. 31cm (12 1/4in) long.
|十八世紀 白玉鏤空雕鳳紋扁方Provenance:A distinguished English private collection來源：英國顯赫私人收藏The carving of nine phoenixes on the present lot indicates it was made for a very high ranking lady of the imperial family. This type of hairpin, bianfang in Manchu, was used by Court ladies during Qing dynasty. Compare with three related jade hairpins illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, nos.282, 267 and 268. 白玉質，扁薄均勻，一面鏤空淺刻九鳳，其間填以雲紋，背面光素。扁方為清代滿族婦女常用的髪飾，此件上雕九鳳，可推測其主人身份顯赫。末代王公載濤和鄆寶惠合寫的《清末貴族之生活》一文記載：「滿族女子平時梳兩把髻頭，......以真髮挽玉或翠之橫『扁方』之上。」北京故宮藏有多件玉扁方可資參考，見《故宮博物院藏品大系玉器篇9》，北京，2011年，編號282、267及268。