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- The Mandarin chain or necklace originally developed from a rosary which was sent by the Tibetan Fifth Dalai Lama to the Manchu ruler in 1643. The 108 bead rosary was made uniquely Manchu by adding a long drop extension and three extra counting strings of beads. Dynastic laws and regulations determined what type of material was used for the beads depending on the rank of the wearer and what were the appropriate occasions for wearing these chains and who were entitled to wear them.
According to regulations of the Manchu Qing dynasty, when the Emperor visits the Temple of the Earth, he was to wear a rosary of yellow amber beads for yellow was the colour representing earth. Of the concept of the Five Colours of the Universe (yellow-centre, red-south, black-north, white-west and blue-east) during the Qing dynasty, yellow was the prime colour and reserved for imperial use.
Others who could wear amber Mandarin chains include the empress, those of the beileh rank (a Manchu title bestowed on the sons of imperial princes) down to the nobility in the imperial line of the Manchu dynasty. The amber for the necklaces are usually non-graduated, syrup-coloured clear amber in a simple design.
Amber Mines in China
China has numerous places where amber has been found and it is usually found near coal deposits. These places include Fushun in Liaoning province, which has the largest amber deposits; Pingnian and Guixian in Guangxi province, Heyang in Henan province, Enshi in Hubei province and Tengchong in Yunnan province.
The fossiliferous amber of Fushun is found about 200 metres beneath the surface from the remains of some 50 plant species of gymnosperm and angiosperm origin. However, this amber deposit does not appear to have been exploited until more recent times.
Chinese Carved Amber Collections in the West
Besides the collections of Chinese amber objects in mainland China and the large collection of amber carvings in the Palace Museum in Taiwan, there are very few significant collections in the West. The largest Western collec�tion of Chinese amber carvings, approximately 200 pieces, is the Isaac Drumond collection in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which includes pendants, bottles, figures, bowls, a writing screen and small sculptured objects. Two other Western museums with significant collections
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