Pendants
Pendants can have several functions, which may be combined:
Award (i.e., Scouting Ireland Chief Scout's Award, Order of CúChulainn)
Identification (i.e., religious symbols, sexual symbols, symbols of rock bands)
Ornamentation
Ostentation (i.e., jewels).
Protection (i.e., amulets, religious symbols)
Self-affirmation (i.e., initials, names)
The many specialised types of pendants include lockets which open, often to reveal an image, and penile, which hang from larger objects of metalwork.