S925 Silver Zhakila Totem Pendant

Totem is a loose word, and on jewellery it usually means an image compressed into a sign: no attempt at complete features, only an outline and a few lines. The totem version of Zakiram takes that route — no eyes cut into the face, no ornament cut into the crown, only the shape of the face and the silhouette of the headdress left standing. You can tell who it is, but it is no longer a statue. Put the totem and the realistic version side by side and it is the same person written two ways: one in detail, one in contour.

There is a practical argument for it. At small scale a full face cannot be fitted into the area available; force it and you get a smear. Compressed into a sign it stays legible — from across a room it is an angular plaque, and only up close does the face appear. The notches on the edge are filed by hand, not cast in the mould, so their position differs on every piece and the left and right do not match. A totem does not do symmetry; symmetry would make it a small statue again. The crown's silhouette is the easiest thing to recognise: three points, the middle one high, the outer two low, readable at any size.

The plaque is single-sided, the back flat and polished, so it can sit directly against skin. It is a little thicker than an ordinary tag and has weight in the hand. The hole is offset to one side at the top, so the plaque hangs slightly askew rather than square — the tilt is deliberate; hung straight it looks rigid. The recesses of the face are left unpolished, with the file marks still in them. That roughness in silver looks like stone, which suits the temper of a totem.

Cord suits it better than chain. The lines of a totem are coarse, and a fine chain looks unable to carry the plaque; a thicker waxed cord or a braided cord is right, in black, dark brown or oxblood. Wear it low, at the centre of the chest; higher up it presses against the chin. The plaque has weight and swings when you move quickly, which is its one inconvenience.

Silver oxidises. This piece is left in its natural white with no plating, so it darkens quickly and polishes back just as quickly. If you like it bright, polish once a week; if you like age, leave it alone, and the dark in the recesses will spread until the silhouette reads more strongly. I have seen both habits and neither is more correct. Some people pair it with a Tibetan braided cord and two old beads, one worn thing and one new, which wears better than a set of all-new pieces.