In yesterday's exploration of fine hair ornaments from Taipei's National Palace Museum, we also looked at a dragon-shaped coral hairpin, but there are many more in the collections of the museum, including one with a silver-gilded coiled dragon surrounded by enamel-filled clouds.
Such a design would be trendy this year, aligning with the celebration of the Year of the Dragon in the lunar calendar. The event has actually already inspired various capsule collections from renowned brands and fashion houses, tailored for the Asian market.
Yet, as usual, the past can be very inspiring: dragons are featured in diverse objects housed at Taipei's National Palace Museum (check out their archives here), including hairpins, bangles, and earrings.
For instance, within the Garland of Treasures section of the museum, there is a set of three earrings (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) prominently featuring a dragon, a symbol of magic and power. The configuration of the earrings presents a dragon head at the upper part of the ornament, crowned by a pearl. The dragon delicately holds a golden spiral in its mouth, attached to a coral gem cap embellished with two pearls separated by a turquoise ring.
Despite their structural similarities, the earrings are slightly different one from the other, but that's not the most intriguing aspect. The most fascinating thing resides indeed in a cultural practice: during formal occasions, Manchu women adorned their ears with three earrings per ear, that's why here we have a set composed by different yet similar earrings.
There is a further symbolism behind these earrings: nine is a number associated with the dragon in Chinese culture and this number also appears this context. With three earrings on one lobe and three on the other, the multiplied count reaches nine, creating a perfect ensemble of dragons.
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