Pearls figure centrally in Taoist and Chinese folk mythology, where the pearl symbolizes many good things, including, ultimately, the entire universe. The serpent—or dragon—in various stories protects the pearl, plays with the pearl, and bestows the pearl on humans to aid them in their hero journeys. Bernhard Schobinger bends these two mythic images into a decoration to be worn on the arm, creating a suggestion of Ouroboros, the mythic serpent eating its tail that represents an eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. Pretty heady stuff for what, at first glance, is just an awesome piece of jewelry.

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