Accouterments of beauty that tell a dynasty's tale

The Chinese words inscribed on the hairpin read zi jin zao, meaning made from self-provided gold.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"In traditional Chinese culture, gourd, with its entangled wines, symbolizes productivity, the continuity of a bloodline," Shi says. "The litchi seems to have been directly borrowed from the paintings of the time - an example of how painting, for which the Song era was famous for, had influenced jewelry design."

"While most hairpins from the era feature only one theme - either gourd or litchi fruit for example, this one has two," he continued.

In the exhibition nearly 200 pieces are on display in chronological order from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) all the way to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). However, the real emphasis, Shi says, is on the Southern Song period.

"It's impossible to have a deeper understanding of the exhibition without knowing the history of Song, a dynasty cut - both in time and space - into two parts: the Northern Song and the Southern Song."