C1810 Chinese Sunglasses with Smoky Quartz Lenses

  

C1810 Chinese Sunglasses with Smoky Quartz Lenses. A very interesting pair of early 19th century Chinese sunglasses in very good condition. The sunglasses have a heavy nickel frame, which is double segmented and folds round the wearer's head.

The lenses are circular and are made of cut and polished pieces of smoky quartz, which are attached to the frame by tiny rivets. The lenses have been cut from the same piece of quartz, as both lenses have the same colour vein inclusion patterns in the crystal. Given the size of the lenses, it would be very unusual to have flawless dark crystal. The tabs end in horn discs and these would presumably have had a silk cord to anchor the rather heavy spectacles on your face. Sunglasses were not only worn by rich people to shield their eyes from excessive light, but also by officials and judges to mask their emotions.

Size: 18 x 14 x 4.5 cm (7 x 5 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches) Lens Thickness: 3 mm Diameter: 4.3 cm (1 11/16 inches) Weight: 50 g. Have a look at our other items. If you have any questions we are more than happy to help.

_gsrx_vers_804 GS 7.0.8 (804). The item "C1810 Chinese Sunglasses with Smoky Quartz Lenses" is in sale since Thursday, May 26, 2016.

This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian/Oriental Antiques\Chinese\Glasses/Cups". The seller is "paradeantiques_online" and is located in Plymouth. This item can be shipped worldwide.

1. Region of Origin: Chinese
2. Age: 1800-1849
3. Product: Glasses
4. Primary Material: Quartz
5. Original/Repro: Antique Original