S925 Silver Nine Dragon Sons Gilt Relief Pendant

The Ming recorded several versions of the nine sons of the dragon, and the names in Li Dongyang's Huailutang Collection and Yang Shen's Sheng'an Waiji do not fully agree, nor does the order. So with a subject like this, do not hold one list against another; what you read is the habit of each son. The argument over versions ran on into the Qing and persuaded nobody, and only made the nine better known. Some take the nine as a round number meaning many, not exactly nine.

Qiuniu loves music and crouches on the head of a lute; Yazi loves killing and is cut on sword guards and hilts; Chaofeng loves danger and stands at the corner of a roof; Pulau loves to call out and becomes the loop of a bell; Bian loves litigation and guards the prison gate; Fuxi loves letters and coils around the top of a stele. Six of the nine, one to a piece; the marks lie in the head, the mouth and the tail. The usual mistake is to confuse Pulau with Suanni: one has its mouth open and the other a curled mane, which shows best in profile. Fuxi at the top of a stele pairs with Bixi beneath it, one coiling and one carrying, and the two are often mixed up.

Gilding laid over relief catches light on the high points and holds shadow in the hollows, so the depth reads from a distance. The gold layer is not thick, and in deeply cut grooves a little silver usually shows through; that is a limit of the process, not a fault. Gold runs warm and silver cool, and with the two side by side the outline of the beast reads more easily than in a single sheet of gold. Never use an eraser on a gilt piece; it takes the gold layer with it.

Choose by temperament, if you like. Craftsmen lean to Qiuniu, salesmen to Pulau, readers and writers to Fuxi; it is all folk association, and it only has to sound right. The plaques are small, and six worn together would fight each other, so one is enough. If you are unsure about a gift, take Fuxi: literary, hard to get wrong. Of the six, Qiuniu has the gentlest form and disappears in a group; alone, it has something to say.

The gold layer dislikes abrasion; a few days in a pocket with keys will scratch it. Keep it in its own small pouch, or wear it inside clothing. Where the silver base shows it will oxidise from yellow towards grey, so when cleaning avoid the gilt faces and work only the exposed edges. No silver dip, which the gold layer cannot take. When the gilt face picks up sweat, press it dry with a soft cloth rather than rubbing.