19th Century Heidao Monkey Pendant love token After the balloon had risen

After the balloon had risen to several thousand feet

The snakes feature stylised cartoonish faces (a Victorian specialty) and little articulated ball drops beneath

Understated and elegant

handmade in England in the 1820s

19th Century Heidao Monkey Pendant love token After the balloon had risenDATE: Victorian, c. 1850 Known as heidao, the art of carving nuts and fruit pits into intricate three dimensional beads flourished during the Qing period (1644 1911), with artists continually trying to better themselves and their contemporaries both. Subjects would include the Chinese zodiac, Buddha, sages, animals, scenes from nature or legend, and they would typically use apricot kernels, peach, coquilla, or olive pits, walnuts, or myrica rubra