Tian-tsui is a lost technique. It's magnificent blue Chinese silver jewelry - the color is derived from a kingfisher feather overlay. Feathers were meticulously cut and glued onto the metal to give it an iridescent blue sheen.
Shashi imported a lot of jewelry before he started designing - he sold it wholesale at trade shows but some of it remains in his warehouse. Our collection of tian-tsui (and most of our Chinese antiques) was originally imported from Beijing - much of it purchased from the Beijing jewelry company - a very large exporter of antique jewelry in those days.
A mere six or seven small boxes of these pieces remains in our hands, but thats quite a few pieces still and we are told by large buyers that our collections is among the largest and most expansive in the world. We have tian-tsui hairpins or coarse, but also tiaras, earrings, mirrored and bejeweled brooches, pins, combs and more.
You can find a bit of our tian-tsui online here.
Here are some sample of our collection that we recently put together for a buyer. Some of these are still for sale and some are no longer available. Please reach out to us if you want one of these pieces.
Which piece is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
Comment
Oh, those earrings! Aren’t they just fabulous? Ladies of the time must have been quite decked out. I love those little chicken things. This photo sent me off to do some research. Love them.