Carved Laughing-Face Bead Bracelet · 笑面雕珠手串

Description

The material

Warm yellow bone, carved rather than moulded. Look along the string in the photographs and you will see the faces are not identical: some grin wider, one is almost asleep. That is what hand carving looks like when nobody has cleaned it up afterwards.

What it is for

The laughing face is one of the oldest good-humour motifs in the region — the idea, in lore, is that you should not take the day too seriously. It is a common gift between friends rather than a devotional object.

Craftsman’s note

The carver works the eyes last. If the eyes go wrong the bead is scrap, so the whole rest of the face is done first on a bead that might still be thrown away. Roughly one in six does not make it onto a string.

Wearing and care

Fits a 6.5 to 7.5 inch wrist on the elastic. Carved surfaces hold skin oil in the recesses, which is what darkens them over a year or two into the deeper honey colour people want. Do not scrub the recesses clean; that is the patina.