Gorgeous and Stunning comes in two basic shades. There’s Gorgeous and
Stunning … and there’s Gorgeous and Stunning. The second one–for
those of you who have an ear for these nuances–surpasses the first
by far. Which brings me directly to that time–Opium Wars aside–when
the China Trade was flourishing partly due to Tea being introduced to
a western world hoi-polloi who had never before experienced this
delectable drink.
Which brings me to my little image for the week … and the
incredible craftsmanship that grew out of that time. I can not laud
or exalt or glorify or extol or even magnify enough the
magnificence or even the splendorositousness of the item you are
about to see. It’s a China Trade ivory sewing box with workmanship
such as you will most likely never again see. This my friends is a
literal statement … and so secure am I in this utterance that there
exists not a twinkling of worry that I might be overselling the item
… leading you–dear reader–on to an ever descending slope of
disappointment which will only lead to a black hole of anti-climax
after viewing this box. Nay nay dear souls … this is a must see for
you will never see this quality of workmanship again. Unless of
course you do … but that’s another story.
Our hand-carved ivory sewing box depicts Europeans in scenes of
daily life. I do not have a value on it. I do not even know if there
is a value on it. To the highest bidder and all that. I will show
you two images. One of the box … and one of an enlarged panel on
the box. The artist–whoever he was–has my complete and total awe.
Was he a genius … or was he insane? Perhaps one needs a little of
both plus an inordinate amount of patience in order to achieve this
level of art.
So … I’ve said my piece. Go … take a look … and get back to me
… and let me know if you think I was exaggerating. A quick aside.
This is a rather large image and may take some time to load. I did
this in order to give you a closer view at the detailing. Forgive
the insufferable wait-time which I’m sure could have been better
spent doing other things … though I can’t image what.
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: China …
where you’ll see an image of the China Trade Ivory Sewing Box.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark