Lot 7. A string of amber and lapis lazuli rosary beads, shouchuan, Qing Dynasty; 26.2cm (10 1/4in) long. Sold for HK$ 63,750 (€ 6,775). © Bonhams. 

Comprising eighteen amber beads divided by a larger lapis lazuli bead pierced with stylised chilong dragons, suspending a circular pendant above two lapis lazuli drops pierced with the same dragon design, dividing four pearls, box.

Note: Amber rosary beads were commonly used in a Qing court lady's daily life for praying, wearing as a bracelet or hanging on one of the buttons on the chest to hold the front frap. See a court lady holding the prayer beads depicted in a court painting Twelve Beauties, which was commissioned by the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735). The painting captured the most popular costumes and hairstyles of Qing court women, illustrated in The Palace of Heaven on Earth: Artefacts on Lives of Empress, Imperial Concubines and Princes in the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2016, no.80. A similar string of amber and lapis lazuli rosary beads was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3366.