Set of eight beads hand-carved from the kernels of Chinese ‘gânlan’ fruits which is a very hard material. Each of these eight young monks has just dozed off and apparently, judged by the expression on their faces, they have pleasant dreams. Their hands are resting brooms. In Buddhism, monks and nuns have a little broom with them, in order to gently brush aside ants and other small creatures, to avoid crushing them. And in China a Broom symbolizes ‘Sweeping away all evil’. Each bead is hand-carved and signed Yu Chen (雨辰) which is a mark used by a group of well-known carvers in Suzhou. Total length approximately 20 cm. Bead length 2.5 cm. Width 1.8 cm. Depth 1.6 cm.