Van Gulik's endpapers for his Necklace and Calabash display the 84 pearl necklace in very slightly asymmetric arrangement. 10 crossings where 4 pearls meet. two lower lobes of 7 pearls each. two upper lobes of eight pearls each. of the remaining 15 internal segments between crossings, each bears a single pearl, but the upper 2 which are bare, and one, which has an extra. 40+14+16+15-2+1, =84. Judge Dee says "Half of 84 is 42."his drawing comes out looking like taoist star charts or Lo Shu.
mine, I was thinking about a glow-in-the-dark rosary bracelet I had as a kid.