Angel hair coral, smooth surface polish China, 18th century This delicately carved coral bead shows chrysanthemums, peonies and a little butterfly amidst a wave-like pattern. The slightly ovoid shape and vertical channel identify it as a hat finial button, worn in the Manchu court. Pure coral was used by courtiers of the second rank. Laws for hat insignia, worn by the Manchu in China, date back to 1636. The Manchu felt very strongly about having an easily visible means of identification – whether it be for the Imperial family or, Chinese nobles and officials. This prompted a dress regulation that codified dress for the Imperial family and Chinese aristocrats. It distinguished the ruling elite and government from the general population. Hats were believed to be more conspicuous than rank badges and for the next century hat laws would amend from emperor to emperor. By 1727, the Yongzheng Emperor introduced “Mandarin buttons” also known as hat spheres. They were to be worn on less formal occasions and were easier to identify than former hat insignia. The emperor wore a twisted knob of red silk cord while noblemen and officials wore a simpler hat sphere. There were nine official ranks according to tradition, each distinguished by a different color. Shape: Round, slightly ovoid shape Dimensions: 2,5 cm (height), 1,8 cm (length) Condition: Good condition with fine hand patina, one natural fissure Provenance: Austrian Private collection Literature comparison: For an interesting article on Manchu hat finial ranks see: Amanda Girgis, “Chinese Hat Spheres”, Royal Ontario Museum, April 2014. 十八世紀珊瑚雕清朝官帽頂珠 天使珊瑚，表面光滑 中國， 十八世紀 這枚珊瑚頂珠上可見菊花和一只小蝴蝶形成波浪狀圖案。微微橢圓形及垂直鑽孔可以確定它曾經是一枚滿清官帽頂珠。滿清二品官員禮帽上曾使用珊瑚頂珠。 關於中國滿族官帽帽子頂珠的規定可以追溯到1636年。滿族人認爲應該更加容易的去辨別等級 - 無論是皇室成員、貴族還是官員。這促成了皇室和中國貴族編纂著裝規定。它將統治階級和政府官員從普通民眾區分開來。官帽被認為是等級徽章，接下來的幾個世紀裏每一朝皇帝都對官帽制度進行了修訂。到了1727年，雍正皇帝推出了“漢人頂珠”，也被稱為帽子球。他們已被用來識別品級。皇帝戴著紅絲繩扭曲的旋鈕，而貴族和官員戴著更簡單的頂珠。根據傳統，有九個官職，每個品級都以不同的頂珠顏色區分。 圓形，略顯橢圓形 尺寸：高2,5 cm，長 1,8 cm 品相良好，包漿細膩，一條天然裂紋 奧地利私人收藏 文獻參考: 一篇關於滿清官帽品級的文章見：Amanda Girgis, 《中國官帽頂珠》（Chinese Hat Spheres）， 皇家安大略博物館, 2014年4月