I am very curious to know more about these fascinating little items, they are button like and made of bronze. One is approx 1 inch in diameter and depicts the profile image of the head and shoulders of an old man with a long beard and domed bald head, he carries a strange stick or staff and has a little inlaid gold detail on his ear. I believe him to be Yue-Lao, the Old Man in the Moon or deity of marriage in Chinese mythology. The other button is slightly larger and I think also shows Yue-Lao, but has far more intricate detail and gold inlay and in this dipiction he appears to be carrying a baby through water, a little like an oriental St Christopher! On the reverse of the smaller button is a bar loop for attaching it to fabric or some such, but that is missing from the larger one. The only thing I have found that bears any kind of resemblance to these items are the ancient Chinese Sheild Coins and parts of old horse harness that don't have such fine engraving or inlay. I wonder where exactly they come from, how old they are and what they are for?
