S925 Silver Five Jambhalas Round Relief Pendant

Five routes means east, west, north, south and centre: wealth on all five roads out of the door, which is the plain folk reading of the word route. There is more than one list of five wealth deities. One pairs Zhao Gongming with the four of Recruiting Treasure, Gathering Rarities, Drawing Wealth and Profiting the Market; another assigns five historical figures to the five directions, and this set of pendants follows the second. Both lists have their adherents, and a shop need not rank them. Some places count only four directions and leave out the centre, which works just as well.

The centre is Wang Hai, ancestor of the Shang people, who traded in goods and was later taken by merchants as their patron; east is Bi Gan, a civil wealth deity, said to have no heart and therefore to divide wealth without bias; west is Guan Yu, a martial wealth deity, worshipped by merchants for faith and honour; south is Chai Rong, whom folk tradition remembers as a pedlar pushing a cart of umbrellas; north is Zhao Gongming, Marshal of the Dark Altar, black-faced, heavy-bearded, riding a black tiger. Each of the five is dressed to his station, with different crowns, robes and boots. Wang Hai's name appears in oracle-bone inscriptions, and the word for merchant comes from his line.

A relief on a round plaque has to follow the circle. Shoulder lines are pressed low, crowns touch the arc, and a little space is left at the sides, or the faces crowd into the middle and look narrow. All five face front, and the folds of their clothing are separated by depth rather than colour. The back is left flat, with a single line of characters naming the five cut shallow enough that you cannot feel them. The five plaques must match in figure height; one tall and one short and they go crooked hung in a row.

Most people choose by how their trade comes to them. Travelling salesmen take Zhao Gongming or Guan Yu, shopkeepers take Bi Gan, and some in wholesale claim Wang Hai. A full set of five hung on one wall is common, but the pendants are small and only show their differences in a line. Worn singly, the cord colour follows the wearer: red is lively, black is steady. For someone in business, one piece is a safer gift than five, which is heavy and hard to choose.

On a silver relief the high points brighten first and the recesses darken first, which is the normal gradation. Wipe only the raised surfaces with a silver cloth and leave the dark in the hollows, where it makes the figures stand. Soaking the whole piece in silver dip leaves it flat white and the lines lose their depth, so it is not recommended. On a day of heavy sweating, wipe it when you take it off rather than leaving it overnight. The corners of the eyes and the sides of the nose cannot be reached with a cloth, and they look better dark.