A Skull…A Clock…and Mary Queen of Scots
Well folks…this time I’ve outdone myself in bringing you items of
delectable weirdness. No jumping to the graphic now. Let me enjoy
this to the end. Oh…the headiness of it all…let me tell you. When
this is over…you tell me if I’m exaggerating. So then…let us
begin shall we.
First…bloodthirsty devil that I am…Skulls. It is regarded as the
center of the soul’s power. In excavations of many ancient burial
sites skulls were often found turned to face the direction of the Land
of the Dead. It was from the skull of the giant Ymir of ancient
Norse mythology --who was born from the union of hot and cold and
whose left armpit sweated offspring–that the heavens were made. Who
thinks of these things? Skulls were also often used to decorate the
facades of buildings as well as placed as cornerstones of some ancient
churches. Sacred caverns on Easter Island were guarded by
skulls…some of them–undoubtably the dried out heads of
warriors–faced the direction from which an invasion was anticipated.
One look…and the invading hordes surly turned tail from fright.
There is also an ancient rite which consists of drinking human blood
using the skulls of one’s enemies as drinking vessels. There’s plenty
more here folks…but you read this to learn about jewelry and not the
habits of the morbidly degenerate. Right? Hmmm?
And so let’s segue to clocks and watches and such. Pieces of
jewelry…if not in ancient times…then surely today. By the
way…for those of you fascinated in trivia…the first timepiece in
creation was a stick in the ground which foretold the passing of the
day as the sun crossed the sky. It was the forerunner of the sundial.
Reluctant as I am to leave goriness behind me…I pass this on to all
who would wish one day to summon the devil. It’s an easy task. All you
have to do is get a clock that chimes the hours to chime thirteen
times. Beware my friends…of the consequences should you accomplish
this never accomplished feat. Not to yet leave the mysteries of the
human mind too far behind…let us speak of the invention of the water
clock. A device was filled with water. It had a small hole in the
bottom…and as the water slowly drained out…the passage of time
could be measured. This was especially useful at night…when the
sense of touch reigned over sight…and priests of ancient temples
could tell at a feel the exact hour in the night that a sacrifice was
due to be made. Ahh…the miracles of modern inventions…is there no
end to their usefulness.
Well…we’ve covered Skulls…and we’ve covered Clocks. All that’s
now left is Mary…Queen of Scots…also known as Mary Stuart. Born
on December 7, 1542…inherited the crown of Scotland a week later on
or about December 14, 1542…was tried and executed on February 8,
1587 after pardoning the headsman for the deed he was about to do.
She was a class act. Her downfall…it is said…was her uncontrolled
sexual passion. So compelling was her life story–the details of which
I won’t go into–that it inspired the novel Maria Stuart by Johann
Schiller, a German literary giant of his day considered second only to
Goethe.
And so…all this being said…where does it lead us. It leads us to
a clock/watch once owned by Mary Stuart. It is in the shape of a
skull…the top of which opened up to reveal the dial. It is an
incredible piece to behold folks. Incredible. So…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 table menu
till you get to the box that says Tidbits…and inside the box where
it says Tidbit Graphics…click on the link that says: Skull
Clock…where you will see a rendering of our adorable little watch.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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