The Hippocamp
Oh to ride cross the world as free as a tramp/on the back of that wild
looking Hippocamp…So then…my friends…by a show of hands…how
many of you out there know what a Hippocamp is…or was…or should
be? Hmmmm?
Well folks…he’s a mythological monster…a sea creature…half
horse…half fish… who had the honor of drawing Poseidon’s chariot
over the seas during that era when Gods and creatures reigned over
humanity. You can see him in miniature these days as he travels the
oceans as a sea-horse…waiting for that time when Poseidon beckons
and Zeus once more decides to rule the lands of mankind.
In the late 16th century mythology and gaiety joined hands to produce
pieces of jewelry that stood out as unique creations in a sea of
drudgery. Of those countries whose artisans contributed to the beauty
of the bejewelled woman…Spain stood out as no mean contender. One of
her sculptors made us a pendant which is the embodiment of beauty. It
is a pendant of a woman with a feather headdress riding the back of a
Hippocamp.
I digress here folks…I digress for a small explanation…an
excuse…a plea of forgiveness if my graphic ain’t all it’s supposed
to be. The image I have is in black and white. It’s gold, says my
source. It has cabochon emeralds and pearls and enamel. I don’t like
black and white pictures unless they’re used by skilled artists to
create a special effect. This picture was not that. So I took
it…and I tweaked it…and I tried to make it look like gold. I
enhanced the emeralds…bringing them from black and white to green. I
cleaned up the pearls. There is no as to color of
enameling…so I let that go. What you’ll see when you see what
you’ll see is my effort to bring color into the lives of my readers.
That said…onward.
This piece is born out of the Renaissance…that transitional period
between the Middle Ages and modern times when achievement and change
marked the significance of that era. Pendants were the favorite jewel
of the time…and our Hippocamp had very serious competition for your
attentions. The Skeleton in the Tomb won my heart and was this close
to being the graphic of the week. I tend to the bizarre…to the
idiosyncratic…to the unusual and the weird. The stranger it is…the
better I like it. The Hippocamp won because I never heard of a
Hippocamp before. How many times did a hero of yours say: Well lad,
I’m off on my Hippocamp. Not too many, I would venture to say. And
so… there it is.
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: Hippocamp…and you will see a pendant of our dear
sweet sea creature.
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com