S925 Silver Ruyi Lotus Enamel Ear Hook

The lotus needs no explanation in Buddhism; the sutras use it for purity, for being in the mud without being stained by it. Four kinds of lotus have their own names, and their colours and meanings differ. In pattern work the number of petals, the number of layers, how far the flower is open all carry weight, and jewellers do not necessarily follow the ritual texts, but the petals always gather upward — held in, they do not scatter. Each layer presses on the one below, and the depth of that pressing is what gives thickness. The tips lift slightly; lift them too far and it becomes a bud.

The ruyi has more than one origin story: one says it was a back-scratcher, another that it came in with Buddhism as a ritual implement. There are partisans of both, and I will not settle it. From the Ming and Qing onwards it became an object for display and for gifts, the head usually shaped as a lingzhi fungus or a cloud head, the shaft curved to sit in the hand. This earring sets the ruyi's cloud head together with a lotus, cloud above, lotus supporting below. The bend of the cloud head has to be soft; hard, it turns into a hook.

Enamel is made by bending wire, filling enamel, and firing. Silver wire is bent into the outline first, the enamel packed in cell by cell, and each firing shrinks it, so several rounds of filling and firing are needed before the colour is full. Silver has a low melting point: raise the kiln a little too high and the body slumps, which is what makes silver-body enamel harder than copper. Whether the surface is flat shows in the reflection — flat, the reflection is one unbroken line; not flat, it breaks into pieces. Enamel fires darker than it looks when wet, so the mix is set a shade pale.

An ear hook hangs lower than a stud, down to the jawline, so the enamel shows in profile when you turn your head. The hook needs a little spring: too stiff and it is hard to put on, too soft and it deforms. The two must be matched in weight; a big difference and one side keeps rotating one way. The centre of gravity has to sit below the hook, or the earring turns over as you wear it.

Enamel chips. The glaze is glassy, and a piece knocked out cannot be put back. Take the earrings off for housework or changing clothes, and do not let them knock against a cupboard door. No ultrasonic cleaning — vibration loosens the glaze over time. If the silver blackens, pass a silver cloth over it lightly, without pressing on the enamel. Enamel colours fade in sunlight worst of all; hung by a window for long enough they go pale.