Long slim gilt silver hairpin with an ear scoop. The pin is decorated with Plum blossoms and a Magpie (xique) which lead to the pun ‘May your joy reach up to your eyebrows’ (xishang meishao). It is marked with the name Min Yuan (旻源) who may have been the silversmith or retailer. The hairpin dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Length 16.8 cm. Width 0.8 cm.