Eleven Pendants. Left to right: 1) Fish over gourd (the magician, Chung K’uei catches and/or releases evil spirits in his magic gourd). 2) Butterfly over gourd. 3) Goose over gourd. 4) Velvet gourd over fruit and vegetables: apple, pear, strawberry (?), ?, ?, spring onion; the magician riding the tiger; carrot; eggplant, ?, leek, and a Ho-pao perfume pouch. 5) Buddha’s fingers citrus over a gourd. 6) The magician Chung K’uei with his magic sword on the tiger slaying one of the poisonous threats to children, the centipede. 7) Goldfish over gourd; 8) Tsung-tzu (glutinous rice wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves and tied in many colors: the sacrifice, on dragon boat day, to the spirit of Ch’u Yuan, the faithful, but slandered minister who drowned himself in protest) and a snake, another of the five poisonous animals. 9) Magpie on peach blossoms (joy and long life) over gourd. The character “special” on the paper bead below. 10) Rooster (happiness) over gourd. 11) Eggplants over gourd.
Donor:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection place:
Beijing, Beijing municipality, Northern China
Verbatim coll. place:
China. Peking (Beijing). Purchased in flea market by Ilse Fang. First half of 20th Century.
Culture or time period:
Chinese
Collector:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection date:
1942
Materials:
Paper (fiber product)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Dragons and Pendants (jewelry)
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Production date:
First half of 20th century
Accession date:
December 15, 1998
Context of use:
Pendants for girls’ hair for midsummer (dragon boat) festival (the fifth of the fifth lunar month).