Accession Number

2008.005.243

Description

A silver and enamel Chinese fingernail guard. The base of this adjustable guard wraps around the wearer's finger and forms a triangular cone around the finger, tapering to a long point at the end. The body is silver with cut out sections. The multi-coloured enameled design consists of flowers, a bird and geometric patterns.

Narrative

Mandarin nail guards were popular with elite women in the late Qing Dynasty in China. Their period of popularity generally corresponds to the 19^th century. Usually worn in pairs on the fourth and pinkie fingers, they both protected and exaggerated the natural fingernails which would be grown long and carefully shaped. Long nails and nail guards were a reminder that the wearer’s wealth and status meant they did not need to do any sort of manual work.

 

Unusual or foreign objects and specimens were often collected by upper class Western men and women in the 19^th century. Mandarin nail guards would have been considered an excellent addition to a curio collection of this sort.

 

This nail guard came to Craigdarroch as part of a collection of needlework tools, however, this sort of nail guard had no connection to sewing. European finger guards were similarly shaped but without the exaggerated nail cover and used to push the needle through heavy fabric by the side of the finger. In China, sewing rings performed the same function. Why the donor chose to include nail guards in her collection is unknown.

History of Use

The donor was a collector of needlework items and gave this to Craigdarroch as part of a large bequest of sewing tools. 

Date

circa 1880

Dimensions

8 x 1.5 cm

Material

Metal, silver; Enamel

Country of Origin

China