Did you know that a butterfly was once called a flutterby. Made more
sense that way… but what do I know? And just to add another of
these no-use bits of info… an apple was once called a napple. I
don’t make this stuff up folks.
Of all the creatures we mimic in jewelry… the cats, the dogs, the
birds, and on and on… the ones we mimic the most are the ones we
most despise… the bugs. Yes folks… contrary to popular myth… we
just love our bugs. We make bees, we make dung beetles, we make
dragonflies, we make moths, and of course… we make butterflies. To
say we are perverse would be a masterpiece of English understatement.
What we do not make when it comes to making jewelry… is naked
women. I assume the reason for this is that it just wouldn’t be right
for a woman to wear a naked woman. What would the world think? We all
know that we all care what the world thinks… why else would we wear
jewelry in the first place?
And then there was the 1900’s. The era of the Art Nouveau designers
was upon us. Ren=e Lalique was in the forefront. He juxtaposed the
woman and the butterfly… as did many others. So… what should we
call that new creature? A Femme-Fluttalle? Or a Flutter-Femme? Or
perhaps a Ladybug. No no. That one was taken.
And the Femme-Fluttalle I am about to show you… is she a sensuous
coquette trifling amorously with our hearts as she flits from
manflower to manflower… or is she one of nature’s playthings…
darting about from colorful flower to colorful flower… shining
iridescent in the sunlight while sparking our lustful interests and
sucking the honeyed nectar from our souls?
Or is she nothing but a whimsical figment born of someone’s
imagination serving no purpose other than beauty. My neighbor asks me
what I thought of the ball game the other day. My friends are talking
about their stock investments. Others talk about their new bridge
lessons as they try to learn a rather complex new game. Me… I stay
awake at night pondering which of the muses it was that caused the
creation of the Femme-Fluttalle.
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
Current Tidbits… and then click on it in order to a
Femme-Fluttalle brooch… of French make… c. 1900… gold,
enamel… and plique-a-jour enamel.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark