So here it is… another one of those major facts of life which elude
most of us due to our inability to recognize truth when it stares us
in the face. I am here to rectify this slight failing… and
become… for want of a better word a marriage advisor of sorts… a
council for those about to embark upon the great ship Matrimony and
sail the tempestuous sea of Wedlock… located–for those who need to
know these things–just a tad North by Northwest of the land of
Conjugality. For those of you wondering how the devil this is going
to segue into jewelry… to you I say… never fear… Benjamin is
here.
Let us say you were born in 1928, or 1940, or even 1952. If this were
the case… then you would have been born in the Year of the Dragon.
Ta-dum! Or is it spelled Ta-Dumb? I don’t know. Help me on this. In
any case… you were born in the Year of the Dragon… and it’s time
to get married. Who to wed… that is the question. Perhaps someone
born in the Year of the Ox… or Rabbit? Yes? Nay nay. A Dragon-er
born to an Ox-er or a Rabbit-er is the worst case scenario possible.
Ideally… you would want a Year of the Rat person. Or a Year of the
Monkey person.
Here’s my offer to you dear reader… before I go into the jewelry
aspect of this. You tell me the year you were born… and I’ll tell
you if the year you were born in is that of a Monkey or a Rat or a
Dragon. I’ll also throw in one of your best choices and one of your
worst. Tell me the year your mate was born in… and I’ll tell you if
you done good. A quick disclaimer folks. Not responsible for breakups
and alimony disputes. More important… not responsible for unions!
And now for Le Grand Segue. Ojime. Japanese art at its peak. The
adherence that function should be beautiful and beauty should be
functional. I find this thinking very true to the point of things and
admire it greatly. And as it turns out there was once a great 19th
century artist named Kaigyokusai. I will show you one zodiac animal
carved from ivory and incredible in detail and craftsmanship…
signed by one Masatoshi Nakamura… a contemporary artist who worked
in the style of Kaigyokusai.
I would almost venture to say there only a few around who can do
this kind of work… one is a chap in England named David Hensel… a
sculptor of the highest caliber–I am a fan and admirer–whose work
is worth looking at.
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 view a piece of
Japanese Ojime representing the Year of the Dragon.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark