Item number: X4

Year: AD 1920s

Material: Silver

Size: 190.0 x 12.3 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 11.1 g

Provenance: Private Collector, UK, 2020

According to information provided by the seller, this handcrafted silver bracelet, created in the 1920s, originates from Hong Kong, which was a British colony at the time and the ancestral homeland of the family.

The bracelet is composed of eight oval-shaped silver segments, connected by small chains. It features a rectangular clasp stamped with the material designation “SILVER.” Each silver segment is engraved with a single Chinese character, and adjacent pairs form four auspicious phrases: “吉祥” (good fortune), “如意” (as you wish), “康寧” (health and peace), and “福壽” (happiness and longevity).

The design of this bracelet closely follows the Art Deco style popular during the 1920s, a period often referred to as the “Roaring Twenties” due to the era’s economic prosperity and cultural dynamism. The term “Art Deco,” derived from the French phrase “Art Décoratifs,” originates from the AD 1925 “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” held in France. This design philosophy represented a blend of modern practicality catering to mass demand and luxurious extravagance characterised by costly materials aimed at the affluent.

A quintessential example of Art Deco can be seen in the skyscraper designs of 1920s America, such as New York’s Chrysler Building. Marked by its flamboyance and striking originality, the Art Deco movement remained influential until after World War II, when it was gradually replaced by the more utilitarian and unadorned aesthetics of Modernism.

物件編號: X4

年代: 公元 1920 年代

材質: 銀

尺寸: 190.0 x 12.3 x 1.3 mm

重量: 11.1 g

來源: 英國私人收藏 2020

根據賣家提供的資訊，這一副公元1920年代打造的手工銀手鐲，來自當時仍是英國殖民地的香港，即家族的發祥地。

手鐲以八個橢圓形的結構物組成，每個銀片之間以鏈條銜接。並且有一個長方形卡榫，卡榫上面打印金屬材質為銀「SILVER」。每個銀片上面各有一個漢字，相鄰的兩兩一組合在一起，分別能得到「吉祥」、「如意」、「康寧」和「福壽」四組祝福的詞彙。

這組手鐲的造型風格緊緊跟隨著公元1920年代，即全球經濟高度發展的「咆哮的二十年代」所流行的「裝飾藝術」風格設計。「裝飾藝術」一詞來自法語「Art Decoratifs」，源自公元1925年在法國舉辦的「國際現代裝飾藝術和工業藝術博覽會」，即一種結合大眾需求的「現代化」和專門取悅富人的浮誇和昂貴原料的混合設計思維。最為代表性的是20年代在經濟蓬勃發展的美國，以紐約的克萊斯勒大廈為代表的摩天大樓建築設計。而充滿浮誇和標新立異的「裝飾藝術」流行至第二次世界大戰後，方才為講求實用和不加修飾的「現代主義」風格取代。