Silver amulet engraved with a depiction of a boy archer aiming at the sun on one side and the characters ‘Bai Jia Zhen Fu’ (Good wishes from a hundred families). In the old days it was common to gather money from a hundred families to buy an amulet for a child which was supposed to offer good luck and protection from these hundred families. Another common thing was asking a hundred families for a small piece of cloth which would be used to sew ‘protective’ clothing for an infant. A bow and arrow were supposed to drive away evil spirits from a child. This amulet dates from the late Qing period (1644 - 1912). Height 4.4 cm. Width 3.4 cm. Depth 0.12 cm.