▪ Orange Transculent “Pigeon Egg” Molded Glass Trade Beads from Bohemia, Circa late 1890s or early 1900s (Origin: Bohemia – modern Slovakia and the Czech Republic; Collected: Africa)
▪ Hand-Carved Bone and Handcrafted Silver “Chop” Pendant from Tibet, Circa late 20th Century (Origin: Tibet; Collected: Tibet)
▪ Handcrafted Sterling Silver Bicone Beads from Hill Tribe of Northern Thailand
▪ Handcrafted Sterling Silver Toggle Clasp from Bali
▪ Sterling Silver Findings
▪ Finished with Silver French Bullion

N0908-103: $345.00 (free S&H)

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BONE AND SILVER “CHOP” PENDANT: This hand-carved bone and silver “Chop” was handcrafted in Tibet. Commonly known as a “chop”, the seal has been in use in stone since the year 222 BC. A chop is a unique art form in that it combines three areas of creativity: calligraphy, typography, and the art of stone carving (in this particular case, it is bone). Calligraphy or the characters used for chops are often ancient. Typography is probably the most difficult aspect of creating a chop. The small space in which the artist must carve, getting the ideograms in order and making them look like a unit, and arranging the characters that are beautiful and pleasing to the eye makes the creation a challenge. The art of cutting the stone (or bone) offers its own set of difficulties. The artist must know how to transpose the text because what is written on the chop must be reversed so the chop, first and foremost, can function when the ink is applied and the chop stamped. Additionally, the technique for cutting soft and hard stones is quite different. Lastly, the knife technique used for cutting the bottom of the seal differs from the technique used to carve the sides or adding other ornamentation.