White Copper Gourd Totem Dangle Charm

The gourd hangs on a pun. Its name sounds like the words for fortune and rank, which is why it turns up so often on everyday objects. In Daoist practice the gourd is a medicine vessel — the one on Tieguai Li's back is the familiar example. The waist-pinched double gourd is better looking than the plain sort: the pinch in the middle lets the upper and lower halves answer each other. Most people who use it do not go into any of this; they like a saying that rolls off the tongue. The piece is small, sits neatly enclosed by the fingertips, and takes up no room in a pouch.

A gourd is two spheres with a narrow waist between them, and a small loop is left at the top, its opening just wide enough for a braided cord to pass. The spheres are not perfect circles; they are pressed slightly flat so the piece does not slide between the fingers. That pinch at the waist is the vital point of the whole thing — a fraction more and it looks clumsy, a fraction less and it looks weak. A gourd has a small mouth and a big belly, and the sense of something that holds a good deal is carried into the form.

A dangle is used more loosely than a pendant. One under the guru bead at the end of a mala knocks lightly against the wrist as you walk. One on a bag's zip pull gives the fingers something to grip. It can go on a key ring too, though the metal and the keys grind against each other and both sides will be marked in time. On a bag, mind the orientation: the waist lies crosswise, so it swings more than a pendant does. Keep the knot small and hide it behind the gourd, where it will not show from the front.

Gourd pieces like this are usually cast, and the waist is where the metal most often runs short, so it has to be finished by hand. On this one the transition at the waist is smooth and no seam is left showing. The spheres were polished in two passes, a coarse one to take out pitting and a fine one to bring up the shine, then a cloth run over the whole piece. A small flat is left at the base so it will not roll off a table on its own. The pitting in the spheres shows under light — look closely and there are a few tiny pits. Cast pieces rarely escape them.

The narrow waist is where sweat and dust collect, and the dark ring that forms there will not wash out; wrap a cloth round a toothpick and work at it slowly. White copper does not mind water, but it minds water left standing in a crevice, so dry it thoroughly after washing. A dangle worn on the outside rubs against desks and tables, and the spheres will pick up a film of fine scratches; that is ordinary wear. The cord slackens over time, and when you retie it, cut the old knot away rather than tying a second one on top.