Skip to main content

Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

CHINESE EXPORT STYLE

Expanded trade between Europe and East Asia, starting in the 16th century, led to a booming market for exported goods, particularly furniture. This was bolstered by the establishment of the Dutch and English East India Companies at the beginning of the 17th century. From folding screens and chairs to lacquer tables and silver, Chinese Export furniture was in demand and regularly copied and imitated, leading to styles like chinoiserie and Chinese Chippendale.

The expansion of exporting that had strengthened the arts during the Ming dynasty continued into the Qing dynasty era — Chinese designers made many furniture pieces specifically for export, resulting in distinctive designs that mixed traditional techniques with forms appealing to foreign buyers. For instance, cabinetmakers in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou) were prolific in crafting hardwood furniture for export in European styles that involved the expert joinery techniques of Chinese furniture. Designs for Chinese Export porcelain, cabinets, decorative objects and other furniture were often more ornately adorned than they would be for a local audience, such as with mother-of-pearl overlays or surfaces featuring lavish pictorial scenes or gold on black motifs. Some were even commissioned by wealthy European families to be adorned with their coat of arms.

Because lacquer furniture was especially prized, and the resin used to create it was difficult to import as it would harden during the long voyage, artisans in China and Japan exported numerous lacquer pieces. Long before lacquer made its way to Japan, the Chinese treated the material differently. They used it to create smooth, glossy surfaces, but also for carving, an art that began in the 12th century and is exclusively Chinese. These pieces are called cinnabar lacquer after the powdered mercury sulfide (cinnabar) employed to produce their characteristic red hue. A popular form for export was a compact cabinet with drawers, usually displayed on a small table. Undecorated furniture built in Europe was also shipped to China to be lacquered. The international exchange of design would influence furniture into the 19th century and later, informing styles such as Art Deco and Art Nouveau.

Find a collection of antique Chinese Export tables, beds, cupboards, table lamps and more furniture on 1stDibs.

to
1
3
2
8
338
143
91
51
51
50
27
13
10
9
8
5
2
2
1
2
6
3
5
5
5
3
2
7
7
7
1
1
8
8
8
1
1
Style: Chinese Export
Antique Chinese Export Silver Belt Buckle with Samurais, Woshing Shanghai
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Two-piece belt buckle in sterling silver. Made in Woshing Shanghai circa 1910. It depicts samurais riding on Foo Dogs/Lions on a matte textured background. Very fine details and clea...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Indochina Walking stick , Baston, Silver Wood and Antler
Located in Valladolid, ES
Beautiful and Exotic wooden cane with old -aged silver handle with horn horn auction, from indochina and dated around at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th cen...
Category

1890s French Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Antique Chinese Carved Jade Necklace, Ring & Earring Set in 14 Karat Yellow Gold
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This necklace, ring and earring set is signed by an unknown maker, and presumed to have originated from China and date to approximately 1920 and done in a period Chinese Export style...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade, Gold

Antique Chinese 14 Karat Yellow Gold & Apple Green Jade Woman's Necklace
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique necklace is signed by an unknown maker and originates from China, dating to approximately 1920 and done in the period Chinese Export style. The necklace is composed of 1...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade, Gold

Chinese Moss-in-Snow Jadeite Pendant of Bat & Citrons
Located in Chicago, IL
Valued for its rarity and lustrous appearance, jade (yù) has long been a symbol of excellence, longevity and purity of virtue. Worn as jewelry or as a protective charm, the stone was...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Chinese Jadeite Longevity Pendant
Located in Chicago, IL
Valued for its rarity and lustrous appearance, jade (yù) has long been a symbol of excellence, longevity and purity of virtue. Worn as jewelry or as a protective charm, the stone was...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Chinese Moss-in-Snow Jadeite Pendant of Peaches
Located in Chicago, IL
Valued for its rarity and lustrous appearance, jade (yù) has long been a symbol of excellence, longevity and purity of virtue. Worn as jewelry or as a protective charm, the stone was...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Luen Wo Signed Antique Ladies Sterling Silver Chinese Export Belt
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique sterling silver ladies belt was made by Luen Wo of Shanghai China in circa 1900 in the period Chinese Export style. The belt is done with indi...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Sterling Silver

Related Items
Antique French Style Chased Repoussé Gilt Telephone with Carved Jade Inset
Located in Rochester, NY
Antique French style telephone. Decorated in the Asian style. Hand chased gilt brass. Inset with carved jade moth plaque. Bakelite and brass handset. Signed. Circa 1920's. Made by Be...
Category

Early 20th Century American Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade, Metal, Brass

Chinese Export Sterling Silver Walking Stick Handle, circa 1900
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Chinese Export sterling silver walking stick handle, circa 1900. Monogram of the famous ichthyologist Dr. Hugh McCormick Smith, "H...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Chinese Export Sterling Silver Walking Stick Handle, circa 1900
Chinese Export Sterling Silver Walking Stick Handle, circa 1900
$180 Sale Price
20% Off
H 0.75 in W 2.75 in D 4.38 in
Chinese Jade Pendant
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Nicely carved Jade pendant. Weight: 29.13 grams. Jewelry / Necklace.
Category

1970s Chinese Vintage Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Chinese Jade Pendant
Chinese Jade Pendant
$400
H 1 in W 1.8 in D 0.45 in
Old Walking Stick / Strolling Stick, Silver Mount, Silver V-177
Located in Berlin, DE
Solid wood ebonized stick with 835 silver mount, circa 1900. Very noble and high quality silver mount. Age-appropriate condition. (V - 177).
Category

Early 1900s Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Chinese Ming Period Jade Carving Mounted in 14K Gold as Pendant.
By Wei Xiao Ming
Located in Sarasota, FL
Chinese Ming period dragon carving mounted as pendant in yellow gold. The metal mounting is marked 14K. Total weight 44g.
Category

Early 18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Antique White Jade Chinese Hair Pin Finely Carved
Located in Somis, CA
This beautiful white jade hair pin is a work of art. An oval head with scalloped edges is fully carved in three dimensions, showcasing an elegant peasant perched among the branches o...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Antique White Jade Chinese Hair Pin Finely Carved
Antique White Jade Chinese Hair Pin Finely Carved
$455 Sale Price
58% Off
H 5 in W 1.45 in D 0.25 in
Rare Antique Faceted Amethyst 14K Yellow Gold Rosary Channel Set Amethyst Cross
Located in New York, NY
Fine and rare antique faceted amethyst and 14K yellow gold rosary with a beautiful emerald cut channel set amethyst 14K yellow gold cross 19th Century The cross composed of twelve sq...
Category

19th Century European Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Amethyst, Gold

Extraordinary Walking Stick Horn Handle Silver
Located in Berlin, DE
massiv horn handle silver shaft robust stick (V-215).
Category

1920s Vintage Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Horn

Jadeite Figure of Guanyin, Chinese
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A Jadeite Figure of Guanyin, Chinese Carved wearing long flowing robes, holding a flower, the lustrously polished stone with a long fissure ingeniously...
Category

20th Century Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Jadeite Figure of Guanyin, Chinese
Jadeite Figure of Guanyin, Chinese
$2,200
H 8.25 in Dm 3 in
Antique Victorian Vintage Chinese Ivory Bovine Walking Stick Cane Carved Dragon
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An Exceptionally Fine Example of a Chinese Export Hand Carved Bovine Ivory Walking Stick of small proportions, last quarter of the Nineteenth Centu...
Category

Late 19th Century British Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Horn, Ebony

Antique Walking Stick with Silver Handle
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
Antique walking stick with silver handle: may be French, from the early twentieth or late nineteenth century. It's very elegant functional. ref. O/7571
Category

Early 20th Century French Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Silver

Antique Walking Stick with Silver Handle
Antique Walking Stick with Silver Handle
$1,417
H 36.03 in W 3.75 in D 1.19 in
Jade Green Ruba Rombic Ashtray
Located in Red Lion, PA
The Ruba Rombic ashtray, produced by the Consolidated Glass Company, stands as an iconic example of Art Deco design. Crafted in Jade green cased glass, this stunning piece features b...
Category

1920s American Vintage Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Glass

Jade Green Ruba Rombic Ashtray
Jade Green Ruba Rombic Ashtray
$2,500
H 2 in W 4.5 in D 4.5 in
Previously Available Items
Chinese Carved White Jade Silver Earrings
Located in Astoria, NY
Chinese pair of earrings with carved round jade hoops suspended by two articulated pierced white jade drop pendants and silver post backs, the jade carvings likely Qing Dynasty (1636...
Category

Late 17th Century Antique Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Vintage Chinese Icy Translucent Carved Jade Moth Butterfly Pendant Necklace
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
Vintage Chinese icy translucent carved jade Moth butterfly pendant necklace On silk cord with four beads Endless knot and Two tassels. Pendant size, 3"- x 2 7/16"- in.(7.7 x 5...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Collectible Jewelry

Materials

Jade

Chinese Export collectible jewelry for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Chinese Export collectible jewelry for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Early 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage collectible jewelry created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include more furniture and collectibles, asian art and furniture, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with jade, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Chinese Export collectible jewelry made in a specific country, there are Asia, China, and East Asia pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original collectible jewelry, popular names associated with this style include Luen Wo, and Woshing. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for collectible jewelry differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $726 and tops out at $8,599 while the average work can sell for $2,548.

Recently Viewed

View All