Description
Clear agate pendant carved with openwork in the form of lingzhi mushroom branches. The two larger lingzhi heads each show an inscription carved in slight relief in brown inclusions in the agate.
One: 芝蘭君子德，松柏古人心. Zhi lan jun zi de, song bai gu ren xin.
Can be translated as:
“The morality of a virtuous man is like lingzhi and orchids,
The heart of a simple and natural person is like pines and cypresses”.
The other: 鸡羊如意 ji yang ru yi
Is a play on words to mean 吉祥如意 ji xiang ru yi, meaning “good luck” and “wish fulfilled”.
The expression is often used to convey wishes for happiness, success and prosperity to someone.
At the end of the pendant appears a small bat whose eyes have been created in two small brown inclusions.
China, 19th century
L: 5,5 cm
