Silver pendant and necklace. The pendant is shaped as a Qilin with a book in front of his mouth. A Qilin spitting out a ‘jade’ book leads to the pun ‘May you give birth to an illustrious son’ (lintu yushu). This pendant would be given to a newborn baby to convey a wish that he should become a distinguished person. Dangling from the belly of the beast is a small bell decorated with a monster mask to frighten of evil spirits and on the other side of the bell is a depiction of the Pa Kua (Eight Trigrams (see QF 4139). A hind leg has been restored. The pendant dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Total length chain 48 cm. Pendant width 8.4 cm. Height 6.6 cm. Depth 1.8 cm. Total weight 53 grams.