… or… What Is It?
Let us start with this: Flora and Fauna are integral elements of
Indian jewelry design. As I present to you an ornate VANKI (those of
you who speak the the language of India–please forgive my ignorance
in this area though I was once given to understand there are many
varied dialect spoken in this country–but those of you who speak the
language will immediately know what the item is) you will notice upon
careful examination that there are two addorsed peacocks studded with
cabochon rubies flanking a diamond flower. The peacock–for those who
don’t know-- is the vehicle of the God Kartikeya.
The purpose of this type of design is to evoke the rich imagery and
visions of the bounty of nature. One should be able to smell the
sweetness of the blooms and hear the tinkling music of the rivers.
The item chosen… such as our VANKI should have ascribed to it not
only all the beauty and delicacy nature… the fragrance and strength
and power of nature… but also have inherent in its structure the
ability given to the world to deflect danger… to give courage to
those who need it… to exude power and might… and to bestow upon
the wearer a sense of valor and a shield of protection. This is a
great deal for a piece of jewelry to do… and yet… to the skilled
craftsman… it is nothing… for the meticulousness in his
concentration as he creates brings forth the very magical qualities
needed in order to impart the very essential characteristics
mentioned above.
In the case of our VANKI… our jeweler did a magnificent job and
rumor has reached my ears by arcane methodology known only to myself
that the present wearer has been bestowed with all the required
attributes. Now I ask you… who woulda thunk it?
Still… the name of the game here is gorgeousness and gorgeousity
and jewelry of the first caliber… and this VANKI fills the bill.
Okay… now look at it… and email me… and tell me what you think
it is. Those who come from the continent from which this beautiful
piece was created need not participate because you have an unfair
advantage. And I don’t want any emails telling me it’s a VANKI
because I already know this.
So… that said…
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits… and you will see represented on our pages a
gem laden Vanki of incredible beauty.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark