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Brass Gourd with Five Emperor Coins

Brass Gourd with Five Emperor Coins

$45.00 USD

A cast brass gourd on a string of five Qing-pattern coins, finished with cinnabar. The object hung where two doors face each other.

Made
Made in Zhejiang, China, in the workshop style used for temple supply
Materials
Cast brass, hand-polished · Five coins struck in the Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing patterns · Cinnabar (朱砂) accent · Braided red cord, adjustable
Size
Gourd 55 × 30 mm, full drop about 240 mm
Weight
100 g
Ships
From Asia. Cost by region, worked out in the cart.

Hung in the doorway when two doors face each other directly — bedroom to bathroom, front door to back door, a door at the foot of the stairs. The gourd (葫芦, húlu) is a pun on 福禄, and the five coins stand for the five reigns of the Qing high period. Where it goes is a matter of the layout, not of the object.

What it is

A small brass gourd, cast and then polished by hand, hung below a string of five coins struck in the patterns of five Qing reigns — Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing. The cord is braided red silk thread and adjusts from about 180 to 240 mm.

The gourd is one of the oldest objects in the Chinese domestic repertoire. Its name, 葫芦 húlu, sounds like 福禄 fúlù — a pun that is the whole reason it appears on doorframes, bedposts and shop counters across China.

Where it is traditionally hung

Between two doors that face each other in a straight line. In the older texts this arrangement is called 門沖 ménchōng, and the standard domestic response is to hang something in the gap rather than to move the door.

The three placements that come up most often:

  • Bedroom door facing a bathroom door — hung on the bedroom side, at the top of the frame
  • Front door in line with a back door or window — hung between the two
  • A door at the foot of a staircase — hung on the door side

Which of these applies to your home is a question about the plan, not about the object. Our bedroom layout tool and the articles on door-to-door alignments work that part out.

What we are not saying

We make no claim about what this will do for your health, income or relationships. It is a piece of cast brass on a cord, made the way this object has been made for a long time, sold to people who want that object in their home.

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