Copper Citipati Micro-paved Three-hole Bead Set

The lords of the charnel ground are two skeletons, one male and one female, dancing with one leg bent and the other extended. In Tibetan they are the lords of the funeral ground, also called the twin lords of the cold forest; they govern the charnel ground and their meaning is impermanence, that the finest body ends as this frame of bone. In Han regions the subject looks gruesome, but within Tibetan iconography it is a proper protector form, not a taste for the macabre. One figure is taller than the other, and they stand on a lotus or a corpse bed, varying by tradition.

Micro-pavé means setting small stones one at a time into metal. The holes are drilled close together, the beads pressed down hard, the border left between stones narrow, since a wider border looks clumsy. The fear with pavé is a stone coming out: if the setting is not pressed home, the stone works loose with wear, and one lost stone leaves a gap in a full field, with a replacement hard to match for colour, size and cut. The stones chosen are mostly deep red and deep blue, which do not jump against copper.

A skeleton subject is selective. Younger buyers find it interesting; elders mostly do not, and in a house with old people at home it is worth weighing before you give one. It can still be worn out of the house: a small piece tucked into a cuff with only a little showing is less conspicuous. Some hang it on a bag or from a mirror. Antiqued copper suits a skull better than bright copper, which looks too new to carry the subject.

The three-hole set is put together for people who string their own beads: the three-hole bead closes the strand, and the stupa and disciple beads come matched in colour. The advantage is that nothing has to be hunted down; the disadvantage is that the size is fixed, and if your main beads run a little larger or smaller, the join looks wrong. Measure the diameter of your own beads before buying, because a fraction shows. The stupa in the set is usually the same height as the three-hole bead; a tall stupa makes the finished strand top-heavy.

Pavé needs different care from a polished surface. There are many crevices, and sweat and dust work into all of them, so brush it dry with a soft brush after wearing rather than rinsing it. Water inside a setting sets the glue and the corrosion going together. If a stone falls out, do not reach for glue: overflow ruins the whole field, and the piece should go to someone who sets stones. Store it in its own bag so it does not grind against other pieces. Verdigris marks on clothing do not wash out, so wear less of it in a sweaty season.