Only five Immortals remain of a set of eight. These small hollow items were sewn to the front of children’s hats as a protection against evil spirits. It is quite rare nowadays to find a complete set of hat ornaments. For Eight Immortals see Quick Find 6278 and for a child’s hat 3325. Each of these amusing ornaments is marked on the back with the name Ren Tai (楊仁泰) who was most probably the silversmith or retailer. There’s also a mark Zuwenyin (足纹银) which means ‘silver’. The ornaments date from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Average Height 3.5 cm. Width 1.5 cm.