Gilt silver spoon-shaped hairpin which is decorated in great detail with butterflies, caterpillars, plum blossoms, two coins and a magpie. Plum flowers represent the Five Blessings (see 4093) whereas butterflies symbolize Blessings & Happiness. A magpie symbolizes Joy & Happiness. Coins with their square openings are sometimes called ‘Coins with eyes’ which leads to the pun ’Blessings and joy right before your eyes’. We don’t know what the hidden message behind the caterpillars is. The hairpin is marked but we can’t decipher the characters. It dates from the end of the Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Length 7.0 cm. Width 1.9 cm.