12 Little Caesars and 1 Little Rome
One little Caesar went to an orgy … One little Caesar stayed home
… One little Caesar had Pheasant under glass … Not one little
Caesar had none … And one little Caesar cried conquer conquer
conquer all the way home.
I don’t know if that’s the exact way that nursery rhyme went … but
it’s pretty close … no?
And so … as the sun sets slowly in the west … and ancient Rome
continues with its bacchanalian ways … we enter with reverential
awe into the workshop of jeweler whose modesty prohibits him from
telling us his name. However … he is kind enough to show us a
piece he is working on. It’s a tour-de-force of revivalist jewelry.
The year is somewhere around 1860.
His fingers fly over the final steps of his Italian gold and Roman
micro-mosaic fringe necklace. It’s a little less than seventeen and
a half inches long. Twelve portraits of Caesars are depicted in the
mosaics. In the center of the necklace … a thirteenth mosaic
portrait is the personification of Rome.
I excuse myself. I step out into the streets. I need a half hour
down time to relax. A sweet young thing approaches me. She touches
my cheek lightly. Tyler Adamus? … she says. How she knows my name
I care not a whit. Got any red wine?.. I ask. She grins. Does
Caesar rule? … she says. I love Rome.
Upon my return … replenished by the forces of life … I behold
our jeweler’s masterpiece … a vivid depiction of soft coloring
reminiscent of Roman frescoes. There are fourteen cupids in
imitation cameo between each mosaic. Each Caesar has his name
inscribed above his portrait. Above Rome we see the letters SPQR. No
idea what that means. Neither does the jeweler. You’re supposed to
know these things, I say to him. He shrugs. I do what I’m told. I
question naught. Still … I eye him admiringly … still … you are
a bit of a genius you know. He shrugs again. I am what I am, he
says. I don’t know if he’s being modest or if he’s elevating himself
to unthinkable heights.
I ask him if he wants to go out with me into the streets of Rome and
revel the rest of the day away. He grins … put on a jaunty hat …
and puts the necklace in the safe. It’s going to be worth about
thirty six thousand dollars U.S. one day he says. Right. Now you’re
telling me you can see into the future? He grins again. I glance
over his shoulder. There’s a book on the table written by someone
called Nostradamus.
Let’s go, says the jeweler.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics … and then click on the link that says: Caesar
… where you will see a graphic of our necklace.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all
next week. Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel – 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail: webmaster@tyler-adam.com