342 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
less distinction they were so differentiated as to become marks of the respective craft or vocation.43
In
Siam the girls ' heads are shaved, with the exception of the top of the
head, where a knot of hair is allowed to grow. On the fourteenth
anniversary of the girl's birthday this "top-knot" is cut off, the
operation being accompanied by a solemn religious ceremony, to mark and
consecrate the event, which denotes the passing of the girl into
womanhood. On this occasion, the members of the family gather together
all the jewels they can secure for the adornment of the "new woman,"
and where they are not wealthy enough to provide brilliant and rich
ornaments from their own possessions kind friends will always be found
ready to supply the deficiency. In the case of the Siamese girl figured
in our plate, and of a girl companion, the Queen of Siam herself acted
as fairy godmother to the extent of furnishing from her own private
treasures a costly and suitable decoration. The gems and ornaments worn
were worth $20,000 and are said to have filled a small steamer-trunk.44
In
a favorite form of white jade amulet, the stone is cut flat and is then
inlaid with rubies in gold settings, so disposed as to indicate a
flower-form. Jade amulets of this type are found in China and in
various parts of northern Asia, and are believed to guard or free the wearer from palpitation of the heart.45
Flowers
fashioned from precious stones make most attractive ornaments, and by
their variety of coloring can be worn with almost any costume. A
celebrated beauty of London society has a number of pansies of
different colors,
" Berthold Laufer, " Jade, a Study in Chinese Archaeology and Religion," Chicago, 1912, pp. 194 sqq.
■" Communicated by Dr. Charles S. Braddock, formerly physician to the court of Siam, under date of February 13, 1903.
- Hendley, " Indian Jeweller»/' London, 1909, p. 27; Plate XV, Figs. 112, 113.
