Silver pendant and necklace. The pendant comes in the shape of a Boy with a Lotus flower and a bamboo mouth organ riding on a Qilin. A Boy carrying a Lotus flower (lian) and a mouth organ (sheng) means ‘May you continuously give birth to Distinguished sons’ (liansheng guizi). And a boy riding on a qilin is a pun ‘May the Qilin bring you a son’ (qilin songzi). The boy is wearing the crown and the long gown of a First Candidate during the Civil Service Exams. Dangling from the Clouds (Granting all wishes) under the qilin are four small bells in the shape of Peaches (Longevity). The pendant is marked ‘Qi Xing’ (啟興) who may have been the silversmith or the retailer and dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Total length chain 56 cm. Pendant width 6.7 cm. Height 7.2 cm. Depth 1.1 cm. Total weight 39 grams.