A man with long fingernails and finger guards on his left hand

A man with long fingernails and finger guards on his left hand

Notes

University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: Pe01-069. The long fingernails signify high class and that the man did not do manual or humble work with his hands. Mandarins would sometimes wear long finger-guards of bamboo or silver to protect their long fingernails when writing or eating. See Fr01-047, Pe01-071 and JC-s004.

Estimated Date

1900-1920

Material

Paper

Media

Black and white photograph

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