Huo Sining had never seen a live tortoiseshell, but she had handled a Guangxu-era tortoiseshell round box at Zhou Shitao's place. The box was exquisitely transparent, with clear and beautiful patterns, soft and bright colors, which were exactly the same as the materials of the three items this man was holding. That's why Huo Sining could quickly recognize the material of these three items.
Ancient records noted that Wu Zetian had used many tortoiseshell jewelry pieces. During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, items such as vases, pen holders, ink boxes, powder boxes were all made with tortoiseshell. The most renowned was the tortoiseshell peach blossom fan left by Dong Xiaowan, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, which was highly admired.
Some years ago, Sotheby's Auction House even auctioned a complete set of Ming Dynasty tortoiseshell jewelry. It was eventually bought by a person from the United Kingdom for a whopping three million British Pounds.
