Sage Song Brocade River Pipa Earrings

$400.00

Handcrafted to order. Leaves our bench by Thursday, 8 Oct

Complimentary shipping on orders over 300.0 USD

Made by hand — final sale. Cancel within 24 hours, before it ships. Shipping & cancellations

Each earring takes the shape of a pipa, the Chinese lute, cast in Miao silver with its neck, pegs and a small heart motif at the head. The teardrop body holds a panel of pale sage Song brocade woven with blue and gold, and a fringe of seven silver drops moves beneath it. The back is textured silver, and the pair hangs from silver-tone ear hooks.

The brocade is woven from mulberry silk and each panel is cut from a different part of the cloth, so the pattern differs between the two earrings. Each piece is made by hand and varies a little, and photographs are for reference.

Photographs are for reference only. Each piece is made by hand, so its colour and pattern will differ a little from the one shown.

The story
Song brocade has been woven in Suzhou since the Song dynasty from mulberry silk, its colours laid in on the loom. The maker sets a small cut of the cloth into a Miao silver frame shaped like a pipa, and hangs a row of silver drops below that move as you turn your head. Because each panel comes from a different part of the weave, no two pairs are quite the same.
Materials
Song brocade
Mulberry silk
Miao silver
Technique
Song brocade: a patterned silk weave in which extra coloured threads are carried through the cloth to form the motif. The woven mulberry silk is cut to shape and set into a Miao silver frame.
Care
Keep dry and away from water, perfume, lotion and heat. Do not leave in strong sunlight. Take care that the woven panel does not catch on knitwear or rough surfaces. Wipe the metal with a soft dry cloth and store each piece alone in its pouch. Miao silver darkens with time; a silver cloth brings back the brightness, kept clear of the brocade.
Shipping & cancellations

Complimentary shipping on orders over $300. Ready-to-ship pieces leave the bench within 3 working days; pieces handcrafted to order take up to two weeks. The date for this piece is shown above.

Cancel within 24 hours of ordering, as long as it has not shipped. Each piece is made by hand, so all sales are final: no returns or exchanges for a change of mind. Full details

  • Pair of pipa-shaped silver earrings with teardrop sage-green brocade panels and a fringe of seven silver drops, on an ivory background
  • Sage Song brocade pipa earring with a blue river motif and a silver teardrop fringe, worn with a linen shirt