This 19th century rank badge, embroidered with silk thread on a dark ground, comes up as lot 50 at Hegarty’s online sale in Bandon. The Chinese tradition of wearing rank badges (Buzi), also known as Mandarin Squares, to demonstrate civil, military or imperial rank began in 1391 during the Ming Dynasty and continued throughout the Qing Dynasty up until 1911. A badge featuring a bird (such as the one here) identified the wearer as a civil official. It is estimated at 180-250. The sale gets underway online at 6 pm on August 31 and there are 260 lots.