Hair Pin

Item number Ed1.269 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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Description

A hairpin consisting of a flared tube of silver tapering to a long slender point with a translucent pink stone (rose quartz) inserted into the open end. The stone has an elongated double-lobed globular shape with a simple curvilinear carving. The pin is indented into three lobes at about one-third of the distance from the stone.

History Of Use

In the early and middle Chosun Dynasty, such hairpins were important, as they were worn in the hair at the front. In the late Chosun Dynasty they were worn at the back of the head, inserted into the woman’s bun created by braiding her hair and wrapping it around a long hairpin. They were also used by women to part their hair, and to clean their ears, if they were in the shape of an earpick. The motifs used on hairpins most commonly were chrysanthemum, lotus, butterfly, and peach. The materials used could be coral, green jade, silver, or pearl.

Iconographic Meaning

The wave pattern on the stone is a symbol of long life.

Item History

Made in Korea during 1900
Collected between 1927 and 1940
Owned by Richard Brown
Owned by Charles Walker and Aileen P. Walker before January 9, 1985
Received from Aileen P. Walker (Donor) and Charles Walker (Donor) on January 9, 1985

What

Name: Hair Pin
Identification Number: Ed1.269
Type of Item: pin
Material: silver metal and quartz mineral
Manufacturing Technique: cut, carved, smoothed, flattened, incised ?, rolled ? and soldered ?
Overall: height 0.4 cm, width 9.6 cm, depth 0.9 cm