Butterfly Hairpin Ornamented with Kingfisher Feathers

With a weight of 4g, this hairpin is made of silver and kingfisher feathers inlaying, and tian-tsui, literally meaning “dotting with kingfishers”, a centuries-old intricate Chinese technique of inlaying tiny pieces of iridescent kingfisher feathers within a sliver gilt frame and base to give an overall effect not visually dissimilar from cloisonné work. But unlike enamels, the glorious, lustrous kingfisher jewelry will never fade. The wings of the butterfly on this pin was illustrated by tian-tsui, while its eyes were inlaid.