This round box is made of mango wood, 12.5 cm across and 6 cm high. A black coating covers the lid, with a golden Chinese dragon on top. Its long, scaly body coils around a red and black yin yang sign in the centre. An ornate square frame, swirling clouds and lotus flowers surround it, and a ring of gold triangles runs round the edge like the rays of the sun. The sides are plain wood. Made in India; you receive one box.
A dragon that brings luck
In European fairy tales the dragon is there to be defeated, but in Chinese tradition it is a kindly creature. It is said to bring rain and good fortune, and it was once the emblem of the emperor. In the Chinese calendar, 1976, 1988, 2000 and 2012 were all years of the dragon, so for anyone born then this lid has a special meaning.
Yin and yang at the centre
One half of the yin yang circle is dark, the other light, and each holds a small dot of the other colour. Chinese thought sees the two opposites as completing each other, neither existing without the other. On this lid the dark half is black and the light half red.
For jewellery and stones
Nothing locks the lid; it lifts off and simply sits on the rim. Inside the bare wood there is room for a few bead bracelets, a pendant or some small crystals, as the photo shows. If you want an attractive holder for the jewellery you wear every day, it will look at home on a dressing table.
Against the black background, the golden drawing stands out even from across the room. A dry, soft cloth is all you need for cleaning, and keep the box away from radiators and strong sun.