Purple Copper Guanyin Statue with Silver-Inlay Decoration

This brooch was confiscated from Puyi’s collection in Tianjin after the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression.
The last emperor, Puyi, influenced by his tutor Reginald Johnston, adopted Western-style dress and lifestyle. This brooch was likely one of the accessories he acquired for Western suits. Although a Western accessory, its decorative motif is a jadeite-carved gourd (a homophone for fulu, meaning fortune and prosperity), making its aesthetic distinctly Chinese. It is a product of the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures.