Silver hat ornament with a depiction of the ‘Laughing Twins’ sitting on a large upside down lotus leaf. The Lotus leaf symbolizes Harmony. A Lotus rhizome (ou) and a Lotus flower (he) form a pun ‘May you have a good spouse’ (yinhe de’ou). The Lotus blossom also symbolizes a Harmonious Marriage in addition to Purity. The seedpod expresses a wish for Many children. The 'Laughing twins or He He Erxian' are the Gods of Peace and Harmony. One twin is named Shi De (拾得) and on this emblem he holds a scroll with the words ‘Create Harmony’ (yo tuan he qi). The other twin is Han Shan (寒山) who holds a round box. The twins bestow blessings on marriages. Interesting is the fact that the name of the original owner Yeng Yuan Xiang is mentioned under the lotus leaf. The hat ornament is marked on the back with the name of the silversmith or retailer of which we can only decipher the last two characters Bao Cheng (寳成). There is also a mark Qian Zu (千足) which means ‘Pure silver’. The ornament which has a small but hardly noticeable crack was originally attached to the back of a hat. Five little Fruit bells are dangling from fine chains. Two are unknown to us but the other three are shaped as a Pomegranate (shiliu), a Peach (tao) and a Finger citron (foshou). These three form the pun ‘May you be granted the Three Abundances’ (fushou sanduo) meaning Long Life, Blessings and Many Sons. The ornament dates from the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912). Height including chains 10.8 cm. Ornament: Width 6.2 cm. Height 3.3 cm. Depth 0.4 cm.