Silver fingernail guards protected the very long nails of the upper classes against breaking. The guards were a sign of the wearer's social status and showed that such a person relied on servants to carry out any wishes, as he or she could not perform manual tasks. An accidentally broken nail was a mishap verging on a tragedy. Very often nail guards were only used on the pink and the ring finger of the right hand as it would otherwise have been impossible to hold anything. This particular one belonged to a set of two but one has been sold as we did not realize that they were a pair at the time. It is engraved with a Peony (Wealth and Honor) and decorated with a Coin (again Wealth) in openwork and it dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period. Length 7.5 cm. Diameter 1.5 cm.