19th C. Chinese Silver Pheasant Rank Badge Embroidery on Silk antique seashell engraving If I were to imagine

If I were to imagine the perfect single ball in cage whimsy

Very good vintage condition--a bit of aging to the wood and paint

which should be easily glued or taped back in place

and make one (me) think it would be pretty fun to introduce some secret codes into daily life

19th C. Chinese Silver Pheasant Rank Badge Embroidery on Silk antique seashell engraving If I were to imagineAlways learning! I found this beautiful antique embroidery on silk the other day in Maine and knew it was a special thing, and have since learned about Chinese Rank Badges, of which it is one. Rank Badges (also called rank insignia or Mandarin squares) were used in China during the Ming (13681644) and Qing (16441911) dynasties to demonstrate the wearers rankbirds for civil officials and animals for military officials. During the Qing dynasty rank