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Rock Crystal Spectacles

China
ca. 1800-1912

A pair of round corrective lens spectacles made from rock crystal with tortoiseshell rims and double-jointed foldable arms. During the Qing dynasty, large pieces of crystal and smokey quartz were ground down and made into such corrective lenses that were able to aid a range of vision impairments.


This work is accompanied with a spectacles case wrapped in shark skin (Accession no. 2024.019).

Additional information

It is possible that object information will be updated as new research findings are discovered. Please email kentonicollection@gmail.com if you can improve this record.

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