S925 Silver Inlaid Cinnabar Manjushri Round Tag Necklace

Cinnabar is a mineral, mostly mercury sulphide. The colour is a true red and the specific gravity is high, so a small piece sits heavy in the hand. It was used for seal paste in antiquity and by Daoist priests for talismans; the red is the stone's own and not a dye. The face is not polished too bright — over-polished it looks like plastic, and a little matte lets the colour settle. The silver mount closes around it and leaves one face showing, the edges folded in and tightened, so the colour is visible without the stone being left bare.

One thing should be said first. Cinnabar is stable at room temperature but dislikes heat, and will decompose as the temperature rises, so do not wear it into a sauna and do not test it with a flame. Do not put it in the mouth, do not let a child chew on it, and wash your hands after handling it. That sounds like a wet blanket, but this is a mineral and not a sweet, and saying so is better than leaving it out. Left in a drawer unworn it is perfectly happy; the stone is not delicate, it simply should not be left in the sun.

This is a round plaque with cinnabar set into the front and Manjushri in relief across the face. The sword in his hand is not a weapon; it stands for cutting through ignorance. The other hand usually carries a lotus with a Perfection of Wisdom sutra resting on it, and his mount is a lion, which stands for the force of the teaching. Recognise all three and Manjushri is unmistakable; judge by the face alone and he blurs into other bodhisattvas. The sutra does not need to be carved out in full; a volume on a lotus makes the point, and filling the surface with text only muddles it.

The plaque comes with a chain, and the gauge of the chain has to match the weight of the plaque. Too fine and it pulls forward, so the pendant hangs crooked at the neckline; too thick and it presses on the neck like a lock plate. A plain chain is the steadiest choice, and chains with a pendant of their own should be left out, since two pendants compete for the same place. Try the clasp several times before buying: a spring ring is more secure than a lobster claw but slower to put on and take off. The length should fall about two fingers below the collarbone, and under a high collar the chain goes inside rather than being forced to sit outside.

Cinnabar must never go into an ultrasonic cleaner; one cycle can crack it. When the silver darkens, work the cloth around the stone and keep the compound off the red face. Press the claws once a year, especially on a piece worn often, because a claw tip worn thin will let the stone go. Store it in a small bag of its own, away from hard objects; a single scratch on the red face is very visible. The seam between cinnabar and silver collects dust faster than anything else: wrap a little cotton round a toothpick and run it along the seam.