White Copper Dragon Head Auspicious Cloud Pendant

In some places there used to be an incense station set on a stone platform shaped as a dragon's head, and worshippers had to lean out over the drop to place a stick of incense in the dragon's mouth. The practice was called dragon's-head incense. It was dangerous, it demonstrated sincerity, and in time it became a figure of speech. The pendant borrows the name and the posture of the dragon's head holding incense, not the act of placing it; the sense of the subject is enough. Incense and its continuance carry weight in folk usage, and made into a pendant the idea has to be handled quietly rather than loudly. The cloud in the dragon's mouth is solid, not pierced through, so the lower edge of the pendant is not weakened.

The dragon's head on the plaque faces straight out. The horns sweep back, the whiskers hang from either side of the muzzle, and a cloud is held in the mouth with its tail spreading below. The head takes the upper two thirds, the cloud the lower third, with no dividing line between them: the lower jaw gathers both parts together. Seen from the front, the eyes are hollow, sunk as two points that light cannot reach, which is what gives them depth. Scales are cut only as far as the base of the neck and stop there, and the empty ground makes the head stand out further.

Three passages test the work: the horns, the whiskers and the head of the cloud. The horns must stand firm; soften them and they become a ram's. The whiskers must be fine without breaking, and a short pour in the casting snaps them. The cloud head must be round, since too many angles make it hard. On this piece the horns hold their line, and the whiskers are thickened slightly at mid-length, an allowance left against breakage that the trade makes as a matter of course. The curl at the centre of the cloud is drawn tight rather than fused into a mass. Brass darkens as it oxidises and white copper goes grey, two different kinds of ageing.

The four options combine colour and form: white copper or brass, pendant or necklace. The cool tone of white copper suits a hard subject like a dragon's head, while the warmth of brass is more festive; it depends who it is for. The pendant is for someone who will choose a cord, leather or braided. The necklace is the easier route, with a fine chain and the head hanging at the chest, and it does not press under a collared shirt. Both colours come as necklaces, so there is no need to compromise on colour for the sake of a chain.

The whiskers are the most vulnerable part: catch them once on clothing and they bend, and a bend is hard to straighten. White copper has some spring, so a mild bend can still be saved by padding it and easing it back. When the surface dims, wipe with a dry cloth. Do not go at the hollow of the dragon's mouth with a toothbrush, since the bristles drag the dark out of the recess and leave it bright in patches. Store it flat when it is off, and do not let the head take the weight.