Bronze or brass round amulet with a hole in the center decorated on one side with stylized depictions of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac and with the Eight Trigrams (Pa Kua) on the other. The animals of the zodiac are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The Eight Trigrams (Pa Kua) each consist of three lines either ‘broken’ or ‘unbroken’ which were used in Taoist cosmology. Every trigram has a meaning for instance Heaven (天 Tiân), Lake (澤(泽 Zé), Fire (火 Huǒ), Thunder (雷 Léi), Wind (風(风 Fēng), Water (水 Shuǐ), Mountain (山 Shān) and Earth (地 Dì). The amulet dates from the Qing period (1644 – 1912). Diameter 4.2 cm. Thickness 0.15 cm.