Very fine gilt silver hairpin decorated with five lotus pods. The seedpods of the Lotus burst with seeds and are therefore symbols of Fertility. The gilding of the hairpin is partly gone. It is marked with three characters of which we can only decipher the first two, Xin Geng (信豊) who may have been the silversmith or the retailer. It dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Width 8.7 cm. Height 6.5 cm. Depth 1.7 cm.