Tibet Silver Information
Yunnan China and Miao Silver
I have been living in China for five years now, and I have discovered that two of my favourite things are travelling and jewelry. My husband and I travel every chance we get. We know the buses, trains, subways, taxis, boats and planes in Asia very well. We go to all the little towns and villages and feel like we are a world away from the big, busy city we are living in down in the south of China.
On one trip we went out to Western China to Yunnan. We walked through all the open air markets and the night markets, our favourites in any city or country. We were amazed at the amount of jewelry being sold at each market, mostly silver. We saw huge bangles, necklaces, silver hats and head pieces and even silver cow horns. Women in the markets and sidewalks all had large blankets spread out with their shining silver treasures. We soon found out that the silver jewelry we were seeing everywhere was called Miao silver. And I love it all.
Miao people are from one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China. They live across many provinces including Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Sichuan. The Miao are known for their elaborate embroidery and exquisite work with silver. They have a very colourful history, much like their stunning embroidery. The Miao people actually had no written form of history up until recently. They used characters and symbols embroidered on their clothes to tell stories, legends and parts of their history. That is why their embroidery is so stunning and detailed.
For more than four hundred years it has been a tradition and custom for Miao women to decorate themselves from head to toe in silver. A complete set of this silver jewelry can weigh around 15 kg and can take more than one and a half hours for a girl to put the entire set on. The purpose of wearing all this silver is for aesthetic reasons. The jewelry is also worn as amulets to ward off evil, and as symbols of wealth.
The tradition of wearing silver has been kept alive by a great number of craftsmen scattered through the Miao villages. Most of the silver accessories are made by hands in a traditional way. A silver head-piece can take up to a couple of months to finish. In some Miao villages every male is trained to work with silver. Each piece of jewelry is an exquisite work of art and shines with the knowledge from the Miao people. The fancy Miao silver accessories include silver hat, silver horns, silver combs, silver ear-rings, neckbands, necklaces, and bracelets.
In the Miao culture it is a tradition that when a girl is born, her parents will start saving money to make and collect fancy silver ornaments that can weigh several kilograms. On the girls wedding day, she will be wearing these beautiful silver accessories. The Miao girls’ love for silver jewellery stems from their love of beauty, wealth and dignity. Miao silver in my opinion is one of the most beautiful types of silver and one with a long and fascinating history.
About the Author
After living in Asia for five years and travelling as much as possible, I have seen and done a lot of things! One of the most recent is discovering Chinese and Tibetan silver jewellery. I have fallen in love with the Chinese and Tibetan jewelry. Over the past few months I have started my own website selling my favourite jewelry pieces. The website is called Tibetan Empress, http://www.tibetanempress.com. From travelling around and going to many local markets I have found a lot of jewelry. I hand pick each piece myself from markets or from the craftsmen themselves. Here are some of my adventures…
Tibet Silver Question
Does anyone know where I can order wholesale priced enamled charms or silver tibet beads for bracelets.?
I make & sell bracelets on ebay & other sites. I only sell the bracelets for no more than $3.75 each & I need to find enamled charms, silver tibet charms, polymer clay beads, cat’s eye beads & any other charms. I need to be able to get them at a really good rate so I don’t have to charge much for my bracelets. Thanks for your help.
Check out our wholesale directory at http://www.legitimatewholesale.com . If you don’t find what you need check back later because we are always updating our website with new wholesale sources.
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Exquisite Tibet Silver Teapot Exquisite Tibet Silver Teapot. Circa early 1700′s…. |
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Tibet $11.98 … |
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Fire Fire Burning $12.35 Michael Rose – This roots singer par excellence hardly needs any introduction. After some impressive efforts as a solo singer Michael Rose joined the ranks of Black Uhuru, a band that subsequently became the first reggae super-band of the post-Marley era. Fire Fire Burning captures the singer in fine style and proves that his instantly recognizable vocal delivery combines extremely well with half … |
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Tranquility II: Reflections of Tranquility $13.95 Track Listings 1. Light Emerging |
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Chie Mihara Women’s Inme Mary Jane Pump $366.00 Classic style gets a fashionable update in Chie Mihara’s Inme maryjane pump. A chunky, stacked, flared heel and textured metallic leather upper add a contempo twist to the traditional shape and requisite strap. Dust bag and extra set of heel taps included…. |
Tibet Silver Video
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | Chapter 22: The Monastery – Part 1/5 [HD]
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