White Copper Inlaid South Red Agate Pendant

The Five Wealth Gods are five directional gods grouped by folk practice: Zhao Gongming at the centre, Zhaobao Tianzun Xiao Sheng in the east, Nazhen Tianzun Cao Bao in the west, Zhaocai Shizhe Chen Jiugong in the south and Lishi Xianguan Yao Shaosi in the north. The grouping was fixed in Investiture of the Gods, and New Year prints follow that order. The five directions are east, west, north, south and centre, all five covered, so that no quarter runs dry. In prints the five wear official robes and black gauze caps, and they are worshipped in both north and south under different rites. The names are cut shallow on the plaque, and not reading them all is no obstacle.

The face puts the five together, the centre figure in the middle and the rest to either side, which is the old print arrangement. The central figure is slightly larger and the four slightly smaller: that is rank, not uneven work. Shrunk to pendant scale, faces reduce to outline, and you identify a figure by what it holds. The robes differ in colour in prints and cannot be told apart on copper, while the characters on the plaque are smaller than the figures, so reading is less use than recognizing. Read the implements first, then the face; it is faster.

The southern red is set into the plaque, and the red shows strongly in the cool tone of the copper. Setting means cutting a channel, seating the stone and pressing the rim, all of it worked in the copper. Cut the channel deep and the plaque thins; cut it shallow and the stone will not sit. The edge of the stone must not be too sharp or it chips. Set at the centre with the copper left thick on both sides, the rim presses down securely. The red reads dark in hollows and bright on the highs, which makes it the focal point. After setting, the face stands a step higher, and a finger can feel it.

Two options, the plaque alone or with a sandalwood cord. The sandalwood cord is dark in tone and does not fight the red; if the cord wears through you change the cord and keep the plaque. The bore of a sandalwood cord is fine, so thread it with a needle rather than forcing it. Under a high collar it disappears, and it shows when you wear a single layer in summer. The hole is at the top edge, and the face turns outward once strung. Choose an adjustable cord so the length can be changed.

White copper's own colour darkens with sweat, hollows first. Southern red chips, and one fall takes an edge with it. Clean the copper with a dry cloth and keep cleaning liquid off the stone. It contains nickel, so sensitive skin should try half a day. The face is crowded with figures and channels, so lift the dust out with a soft brush a little at a time. The plaque is thick and does not show through a shirt. Once the copper is scratched, uneven polishing is the most you can do.