A mandarin court necklace or ‘chao zhu’ was an insignia of rank during the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912). It provided high ranking court officials an opportunity to show their position. Pearls were reserved for the emperor and empress whereas the colors of the necklaces of other officials denoted the position of the wearer. The ‘chao zhu’ is related to the Buddhist mala, a rosary. Every ‘chao zhu’ consists of 108 beads referring to the 108 questions which the Bodhisattva Mahamati asked the Buddha. This bead once formed part of a ‘chao zhu’ and we have the feeling that the two jadeite fish in our collection (see Quick Find 2626) may have been part of the same necklace as they are made of the same material. The bead and the fish date from the Qing period and were discovered in the same antiques store. The last two photos show a court necklace and a box which was used to store them in.