Silver pendant in the shape of a Boy with a Lotus flower and a bamboo mouth organ riding on a Qilin. A Boy carrying a Lotus flower (lian) and a mouth organ (sheng) means ‘May you continuously give birth to Distinguished sons’ (liansheng guizi). And a boy riding on a qilin is a pun ‘May the Qilin bring you a son’ (qilin songzi). The Qilin is a mythical creature that has the same role as the stork in the West. The boy is wearing the crown and the long gown of a First Candidate during the Civil Service Examinations. The pendant dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Width 6.5 cm. Height 6.3 cm. Depth 0.9 cm. Weight 17 grams.