Lot 172 , A cased set of seven Chinese Mandarin civil official hat finials, late Qing dynasty, presented in 1926

A cased set of seven Chinese Mandarin civil official hat finials, late Qing dynasty, presented in 1926, each gilt filigree work finial with a different coloured glass globe, the highest rank example in gilt metal, mounted on card and housed in a hardwood display case, with a faux ivory label inscribed ‘Mandarin buttons indicating rank, and worn at the top of the old style Chinese official hat. Presented to RFC Hedgeland, Commissioner of Customs, Swatow, by Li Ch’ung-Kung, Customs Superintendent and Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, 5 August 1926’, case width 37cm, depth 10cm, height 18.5cm

Provenance -
Reginald Hedgeland (1874-1967); thence by family descent.
All the objects in the collection were presented to Chinese Maritime Customs Commissioner Reginald Hedgeland, and date from around 1900 to 1927.
His papers and photographs are deposited in Archives & Special Collections, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A few of the items of silver and silk banners to be offered by Gorringe's are illustrated in the Reginald Hedgeland photograph archive held at SOAS, University London. The SOAS library site includes the following biography- 
Reginald Follett Codrington Hedgeland was born in Exeter, Devon on 18 December 1874. He joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in May 1898, having graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford, the previous year. Hedgeland was one of many foreigners from Europe and America who made up the higher levels of the Customs Service, which was controlled by central Chinese government. Originally established by foreign consuls to collect maritime taxes during the Taiping Rebellion in 1854, it expanded to include other functions such as domestic customs, postal services, and waterway and harbour management, and it was involved in politics and diplomacy. Hedgeland’s long career in China, which saw him retire with the rank of Commissioner in 1930, took him to many ports. His first posting was to Hoihow [Haikou], a port on the mouth of the Nandu River on the island of Hainan in the south. Later posts included Nanking [Nanjing], Tientsin [Tainjin], Macau, Hong Kong, Nanning, Aigun, Swatow [Shantou] and Canton [Guangzhou]. Many of Hedgeland’s postings were to remote ports such as Nanning or Aigun, where the foreign social circles would have been confined and social opportunities limited. His photographs of the club house and golf course in Nanning show the somewhat improvised nature of the entertainment available there. Hedgeland’s archive documents an experience of the Customs Service far removed from the foreign experience of Shanghai, Hong Kong or Peking [Beijing]. The silver vessels presented to him by local Chinese Customs officials are finely engraved with inscriptions in Mandarin and English.
£1,000-1,500

Condition:
The mandarin hat finials are in good condition with just some to tarnish and grubbiness to the gilding, the thick card or wood base which the fittings for the finials are screwed into has discoloured and badly damaged silk which could easily be replaced. the hardwood case is a little loose and wobbly to the corners of the glazed upper section, otherwise in reasonable condition

Sold for £2,400