White Copper South Red Agate Tang Lion Bell Pendant

South Red is a variety of agate, its colour running from persimmon to cherry red. Good material is even in tone, shows a fine ring of light at the edge when held to a lamp, and has a slightly gelatinous quality; poor material is dry and looks like plastic. It has been used for beads for a long time, and both old and new material are on the market; when choosing, judge by colour and by translucency.

The creature crouched on the bell is a Tang lion: round body, curled mane, short legs. It is not the lean, elongated Tibetan snow lion but closer to the Han stone lion. The mouth is slightly open, the mane in tight curls, the tail flat against the flank. The bell itself is below and the lion serves as its lid. The curls are separated by gaps so that the mould releases cleanly, and the tail is laid against the body rather than lifted so that it does not catch on clothing.

Bells are used a great deal in Tibet — on doors, on the necks of yaks, at the end of an implement's handle — and they sound whenever the wind moves. This one has a small pellet in the chamber, and the note is not sharp but rather muffled. The large size sounds deeper and the small one brighter. A parting line runs down the side of the bell and can be found if you look for it. The pellet turns inside as you shake it, and whether the note is dull or bright depends on the size of the chamber.

The large size suits a bag, a rear-view mirror, or a big pendant at the chest; the small one is better for daily wear, since it makes less noise as you walk. The agate is set into the lion's body, and the setting should be flat, with no step under the fingertip. Hung on a bag, the large one will sound as you walk and may be too much in an office. Hung at the chest with the mouth downward, the small one halves the sound.

South Red chips if it falls on a hard floor, and that is the great difference between it and the copper. Dust gathers in the chamber, and when the bell stops ringing it is usually because dust has jammed the pellet: turn the mouth down and tap it twice. Do not soak the piece, since water in the chamber dries very slowly. If the setting works loose, do not reach for glue, which seeps into the fissures of the stone and is then almost impossible to clean out. Wipe the copper with a dry cloth and the agate with a soft one, and keep the two cloths separate.