Copper Crystal Openable Gourd Pendant Charm

Being openable is the point of this gourd. A seam runs between the two spheres; unscrew it and the inside is hollow, with room for something. What goes in is up to you — a grain of rice, a scrap of sutra text, a little incense ash; people have put all of these in. Leaving it empty is fine too, since it is a box to begin with. With a piece that opens, the pleasure is in the action, not in the contents.

In Daoism and in folk belief the gourd is bound up with containing — containing demons, medicine, breath. The purple-gold gourd of Taishang Laojun and the gourd carried by Iron Crutch Li among the Eight Immortals both carry that image. A pendant made to open borrows something of it. What is borrowed is the form, not any power, and that should be said plainly. On ordinary objects the gourd is mostly a container: for medicine, for wine, for seed. Its mouth is narrow, so filling it means tipping, and there is no hurrying it.

The lower sphere is quartz; the upper sphere and the waist band are copper. The joint opens at the waist, where the thread is short and not tight, so fingers can turn it. Closed, a fine seam remains — it is not sealed, so do not put anything in it that fears damp. If you want it tighter, a turn of PTFE tape on the thread will hold moisture back a little. The thread is cut flat, so start it square; begun at an angle it will not bite.

The loop is at the top of the upper sphere, for a chain or a cord. The piece is light and does not pull at the neck. The gourd's curve is full, and the two spheres are close in diameter. A small difference reads as one object; a large one reads more plainly as a gourd. The upper sphere is polished copper and the lower is polished quartz; the two surfaces meet at the waist, where the band covers the joint. Run a chain through the loop and the pendant sits best just above the chest.

Copper thread loosens with repeated opening. When it does, wrap PTFE tape round it rather than reaching for glue. The quartz lower sphere does not survive drops; on a hard floor it will usually crack. Do not force it shut — finger-tight is enough. Make sure the inside is dry before putting anything in, since trapped damp will go mouldy. If you do put a paper scroll in, wrap it in thin paper first so it does not sit against the copper. The loop is small; do not use it as a handle.