Recentemente ho visto nel negozio di Ruth (https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/ColorSquare?page=) delle speciali grosse perle di ebano fatte a mano che hanno immediatamente fatto drizzare le mie orecchie.
Ebano.... mi sono detta, nome fatato che spesso ricorre nelle fiabe, ma più precisamente dove l'ho letto? E così mi è venuto in mente che nelle fiabe quando si vuole sottolineare qualcosa di nero e prezioso non c'è che l'ebano.
La famosa fiaba dei fratelli Grimm Biancaneve comincia proprio così: "C'era una volta, nel pieno dell'inverno, quando soffici fiocchi di
neve cadevano come piume dal cielo, una regina che cuciva seduta presso
una finestra dalla cornice nera di legno d'ebano. Mentre cuciva,
guardava la neve e si punse un dito con l'ago; così, tre gocce di
sangue caddero sulla neve, e, il rosso sul bianco risultò così bello
ch'ella pensò: 'Ah, se solo avessi una bambina bianca come la neve,
rossa come il sangue, e bruna come l'ebano di questa finestra!'
E allora ho iniziato a meditare su come utilizzare queste preziose
palline di ebano e l'ispirazione è arrivata proprio dalla favola di
Biancaneve: all'ebano ho aggiunto il bianco bagliore della pietra di
luna e bianche rondelle fatte a mano in Indonesia in pasta di vetro (http://www.happymangobeads.com) ; per il colore rosso ho scelto rondelle piccole di rubino naturale rondelle più grandi in cristallo, e bellissime perle di vetro allungate antiche (trade beads acquistate da Ruth) ,onice nero, due preziose perline d'argento di
Bali e delle meravigliose perle in metallo argentato e dorato
provenienti dalla Turchia. La grossa goccia centrale è in corniola , una delle pietre più antiche impiegate nei gioielli tribali.
Per bilanciare la liscia "rotondità" delle palline di ebano ho aggiunto tre pezzi irregolari di ambra del Baltico naturale color miele che non potevo trovare che dalla cara amica e collezionista di pietre preziose Johanne del negozio Etsy Bellabeadsandgems https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/BellaBeadsandGems.
Per un tocco un po magico rari cristalli a due punte trasparenti con inclusioni grigie ( Sichuan quartz).
E così sono soddisfatta e felice della mia collana....da favola!
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Per bilanciare la liscia "rotondità" delle palline di ebano ho aggiunto tre pezzi irregolari di ambra del Baltico naturale color miele che non potevo trovare che dalla cara amica e collezionista di pietre preziose Johanne del negozio Etsy Bellabeadsandgems https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/BellaBeadsandGems.
Per un tocco un po magico rari cristalli a due punte trasparenti con inclusioni grigie ( Sichuan quartz).
E così sono soddisfatta e felice della mia collana....da favola!
* * * * *
Recently I have discovered in Ruth Lawson shop ( https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/ColorSquare?page=) some unique handmade irregular old big ebony beads , that immediately called my attention (I'd better say..I pricked my ears!).
Ebony ..I told myself, a magic word that I had often heard in fairy tales, but exactly where did I read about it? And thinking and thinking I have remembered that when in fairy tales something is described as "black and precious" there is only ...ebony.
The famous Grimms tale SnowWhite begins this way:
"A queen sits sewing at an open window
during a winter snowfall, when she pricks her finger with her needle,
causing three drops of red blood to drip onto the freshly fallen white
snow on the black windowsill. Admiring the beauty of the resulting color
combination, she says to herself, "Oh how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony."
Soon after that, the Queen gives birth to a baby girl who is as white
as snow, with lips as red as blood and has hair as black as ebony. They
name her 'Snow White,' but sadly, the Queen dies after giving birth to
her.["1][4]
Ebony has a long history of use, with carved pieces having been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. By the end of the 16th century, fine cabinets for the luxury trade were made of ebony in Antwerp. The wood's dense hardness lent itself to refined moldings framing finely detailed pictorial panels with carving in very low relief (bas-relief), usually of allegorical subjects, or with scenes taken from classical or Christian history. Within a short time, such cabinets were also being made in Paris, where their makers became known as ébénistes, which remains the French term for a cabinetmaker.
Modern uses are largely restricted to small items, such as crucifixes, and musical instrument parts, including black piano and harpsichord keys, violin, viola, guitar, double bass, and cello fingerboards, tailpieces, pegs, chinrests, and bow frogs. Many plectrums, or guitar picks, are made from this black wood. Traditionally, the black pieces in chess sets were made from ebony, with rare boxwood or ivory being used for the white pieces. Modern East Midlands-style lace-making bobbins,
also being small, are often made of ebony and look particularly
decorative when bound with brass or silver wire. Due to its strength,
many handgun grips and rifle fore-end tips are made of ebony, as are the
butts of pool cues.
As a result of unsustainable harvesting, many species yielding ebony
are now considered threatened. Africa in particular has had most of its
indigenous ebony cut down illegally, and for this reason it has become
common for street traders to blacken lighter woods with shoe polish in
an effort to make a sale.Then I began to meditate how I could have used these precious ebony beads, and the inspiration is arrived just from WhiteSnow tale: to ebony beads I have added the white sparkling of moonstone gemstone, white handmade indonesian rondelles (Happy mango Beads) , little natural ruby rondelles, red bigger glass beads , elongated red old glass trade beads (by Ruth Colorsquare), black onyx, raw honey Baltic amber pieces (that I could find only at Bellabeadsgems Etsy shop of the dear friend and special gemstones collector Johanne https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/BellaBeadsandGems) . The big orange drop is by carnelian , one of the oldest gemstones used in tribal jewels.
Two precious silver Bali beads and wonderful Turkman granulated beads.
And to counterbalance the smooth and roundness of ebony beads I have added some rare and mysterious natural double terminated Sichuan quartz.
And my fairy necklace is done!
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| And if you do not know what to do with ebony, you can ...rest on its tree as this wonderful leopard! |
