The Song of the Cicada
All right. Now…everybody pull up a chair and make a semi-
circle. Ready? By a show of hands…what nation is best known
for its most prolific carvings in quartz throughout history. Yes?
You…with the red hair down to her shoulders. I see you raising
your hand. Did you say China? Who else knew that? Only the
redhead? Miss…you are not only beautiful…but you are smart
too.
In Chinese lore, the cicada and the butterfly symbolize
metamorphosis and rebirth and the advent of romantic love. While
the butterfly is akin to cupid, bringing lovers together, it is
the cicada that carries the most power. It is said the cicada
must sing in the fifth month, for if it does not, all
distinguished men of the province will be exiled. Then where
would the women be? Hmmm? You got an answer to that, Red?
In China, the provinces of Hunan and Hubei were famous for their
crystal quartz mines. And the Chinese, over the centuries, became
more than moderately adept at carving this stone. Their work is
stunning. Much like our redhead over there. Does she have a sweet
smile, or what? Anyway, I digress. Heh heh. Who could blame me?
Still…There once was a bottle which was carved out of a piece
of flawless crystal. It had a glassy finish to it, and if one was
not aware that it was quartz, one might easily have mistaken it
for glass. Of course, there might be a person or two in this
group who would not be mistaken…but I don’t want to mention any
names. Um…did you say you needed some private tutoring later on
Miss? Of course I wouldn’t mind.
The body of this bottle was undercut with foliage and flowers.
One side of the bottle had a carving of a butterfly with closed
wings, and the other side had a carving of a butterfly with wings
outspread. There was also a cicada straddling the bottle on the
upper right side, and a bird was perched on the bottle’s neck.
This bottle, not unlike our young lady, was and is a stunning
work of art. No need to blush miss…I tells it as I sees it.
Of course I have scanned this work of art for all of you to
see… by work of art I am of course referring to the bottle only
folks. The redhead is for mine eyes alone. Sorry.
So…in order to view this masterpiece…go to my home page
folks! Quick! Down the table menu…to Tidbits Graphics…and
the Quartz Bottle…and click!
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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