The Bizarre, the Grotesque, and the Beautiful
There was a time in the early 1900’s when men wore little if no
jewelry. And if they did wear jewelry…they certainly…most
certainly…did not wear jewelry with diamonds. That…was a woman
thing. And yet…and yet…there was a company named Carter, Howe &
Co., that made sleeve buttons–read cuff links-- that were wearable by
both men and women. This week my friends, I bring you such a pair.
Men…put yourselves in a time long past…and ask yourselves this: If
I were going to a gathering of the posh elite, and being the dashing
and avant garde type of bloke that I am, would I wear these sleeve
buttons? Of course, it goes without saying, that you don’t ask
yourselves this question till after you’ve seen the graphic…which is
bizarre…and grotesque… and truly quite beautiful. No one need to
ask if I myself would wear them…cuz I would…quicker’n a bear kin
scoop honey out of a bee’s nest.
Which brings us through to the smooth and practically unnoticeable
segue into the world of masks. Why on earth…I hear some of you
whispering…why on earth would anyone want to wear masks as jewelry?
Well folks…why not? After all…masks were often used as a depiction
of the supernatural forces which surround us. For instance…in olden
days…and perhaps even today for all I know… in Sri Lanka, when a
man was extremely ill and beyond the help of traditional medicine…a
devil dancer was called in. Our dancer would then quickly analyze the
situation…pull out the mask appropriate to each of the demons of the
disease at hand… don the mask…do the dance…and pull the disease
right out of the ailing patient…most assuredly bringing him back to
health and full recovery. If…after this bit of …there
are those of you still mediocre enough to want to visit a physician
rather than a medicine man…then I give up. I’ve tried my best and
you can lead a horse to water and all that.
I will not go into the many masks world-wide used for ceremonial
purposes. There are simply too many. But I will give you areas of
interest where humans did and still do use masks extensively at one
time of the year or another. There’s Australia…and the Aborigines.
There are the Mayans of long ago. There’s Mali…West Africa. There
are masks of the Hopi and Iroquois Indians of America. And of
course…last but not least…in our modern day…during that time of
the year when children most strongly feel the need for nourishment
they are evidently unable to get at home…and so they don their
masks…and go around like pitiful little waifs …knocking on
doors…begging for sweets…and promising vengeful retaliation if
their demands are not met. Oh that dreaded holiday when we succumb to
the desires our youth lest we be chastised in ways too horrible to
even think of…we can only thank the spirits that guide us that
Halloween only comes once a year.
That said…I rest my case as to why one would want to wear a mask as
a piece of jewelry. I say…not only why not…but you better well
better if you want to play it on the safe side. Which brings me to my
graphic of wondrous cufflinks of the early 1900’s. To me…they’re
stunning.
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: Mask…and you will see a bit of grotesque and
bizarre and beautiful
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 to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com