White Copper Eight Immortals Pattern Ring

Eight objects are set in a ring, each taking a segment of the arc, none crowding another. Gourd, fan, sword, flower basket, lotus, flute, jade tablet and fish drum: counted one by one they fill the face exactly. A thin cloud line separates one from the next, and the line is broken rather than running as a continuous ring. There are no characters at all. The eight objects are what identify the ring. They are not the same size — the gourd is the roundest, the sword the longest — so the spacing was set by how much arc each one needed.

This is the hidden Eight Immortals. Each of the eight has an object he or she carries: Tieguai Li's gourd, Han Zhongli's fan, Lü Dongbin's sword, Lan Caihe's flower basket, He Xiangu's lotus, Han Xiangzi's flute, Cao Guojiu's jade tablet and Zhang Guolao's fish drum. The figures are left out and only the objects drawn, so the viewer supplies the face. The device is common on Ming and Qing porcelain and textiles, chosen for its restraint and because it saves space. All eight make one picture; leave one out and anyone reading it has to guess.

Two colours, brass and white. The brass piece cuts deeper and throws a heavier shadow, so the eight objects separate at a glance; the white copper has weaker contrast and has to be turned until the light rakes across it. A thicker finger looks better in brass, where the colour carries the visual weight. The white piece suits summer and does not look heavy against light clothing. The carving depth is the same in both; what differs is the ground, warm in brass, which softens the shadow in the cuts. The white one dislikes sweat, so wipe it after wearing.

Eight objects crowded into one band are always in danger of blurring into a single mass. Here each outline was cut as a groove first, with the interior detail raised in shallow relief afterwards, so the outline keeps neighbours apart. The straight edges of the jade tablet and the waist of the fish drum are the places most likely to slump, and both have come out reasonably crisp. Seen from the side the relief is thin, and the face of the band is still flat.

Worn every day, the ring meets sweat, and dust gathers in the lines quickly. Do not pick at it with a needle: the point slips and leaves a white scratch. Use a soft toothbrush with a little clean water, brush along the outlines, and dry it at once. The brass piece yellows with wear; if you want it darker, a few days off the hand will take it back. Take it off before showering, because soap left in the lines dries white.