Japanese Lacquered Geisha Hairpin Necklace

This exquisite collar necklace from the early 20th century Meiji period features an intricate design adorned with Japanese lacquered four Hairpins, baguette diamonds and green tsavorites, set on black rhodium plates sterling silver.

The Hairpins are elegantly placed in an alternating pattern, adding to the necklace's allure. The collar is made of 9K gold.This Meiji period Maki-e Lacquer work combs and hairpins were crafted for Geishas and designed with the inspiration of flowers, from the gardens of ancient imperial palaces and forts of Japan. The combs were Maki-e lacquered, i.e., sprinkled with gold or silver powder as a decoration using a cannister (makizutsu) or a hair-tipped paint brush (kebo brush). The technique was developed mainly during the Heian period (794–1185) to decorate screens, albums, letter boxes, and ink-slab cases. To create different colours and textures, maki-e artists use a variety of metal powders including gold, silver, copper etc. as alloys. Bamboo tubes and soft brushes of various sizes are used for laying powders and drawing fine lines. As it requires highly skilled craftsmanship to produce a maki-e painting, young artists usually go through many years of training to develop the skills and to ultimately become maki-e masters.

After sourcing the Hairpins, the design took over 5 months to create and finish with over 10 craftsmen involved at various stages.

Diamonds : 2.66 ct.
Tsavorite : 3.22 ct.
Length : 17”
Weight : 92.95 g