Saturday, December 22, 2007
Chronicler Of A Floating World
(via The Guardian) Adrian Searle writes about Hiroshige's masterful prints of 19th-century Japan + other viewpoints @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2229609,00.html
Joy In Mudville
Ira Berkow writes about LeRoy Neiman's colorful paintings and screen prints + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=726
The Pride Of Flanders
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art Of Rubens, Van Dyck, And The Flemish Portrait-Painters
Painter, courtier, scholar, and diplomatist, Peter Paul Rubens is one of the most picturesque figures in European history. In origin he belonged to the upper middle class, for though his grandfather had been a tanner of Antwerp, his father John Rubens (1530-87) had taken his degree at an Italian university and subsequently attained considerable civic importance in Antwerp. At that time Flanders was under Spanish rule, and trouble with the authorities over political and religious matters drove the Protestant John Rubens and his family into exile at Cologne. There he became the intimate counselor of William the Silent, and unfortunately, too intimate with his patron’s wife, the Princess of Orange. Their love affair was discovered and Dr John Rubens was thrown into prison, from which he was only released after the Prince had divorced his wife. He did not long survive his imprisonment, and died at Cologne in 1587.
All this had its influence on young Peter Paul, who was born at Siegen, Westphalia, in 1577, one year after the death of Titian. Political complications had already driven his father from Antwerp, and so the boy spent his early childhood in exile. He was only ten years old when his father died, and then his mother returned to Antwerp, taking her three children with her, Blandina the eldest, a young woman of twenty-three, Philippe a boy of thirteen, and Peter Paul the youngest. By a curious coincidence, just as only one year separated the birth of Peter Paul Rubens from the death of Titian, so again one year divided the death of John Rubens from that of Paul Veronese (1588), whose art his son was destined to develop and glorify.
After her daughter’s marriage in 1590, the widow Rubens was able to say in a letter that both her sons were earning their living—so we know that their schooldays in Antwerp were short: Philippe obtained a place in the office of a town councillor of Brussels, while Peter Paul was Page of Honor to the Princess Margaret de Ligne-Aremberg. This gave the future diplomatist his first experience of court life; but it was short one, for already he felt art to be his true vocation, and in 1591 the lad of fourteen was allowed to begin his training as a painter in the studio of his cousin Tobias Verhaeght.
Here it may be well to recall that since the death of Mabuse in 1533 there had been no painter of the first rank in Flanders. Lucas da Heere (1534-84), a capable portrait-painter, though born at Ghent, worked chiefly in France and England. Returning to Flanders he could get little employment, and he died in poverty at Paris. A more successful portrait-painter, Antonio Moro (1519-78), better known as Sir Anthony More, also began his career in Ghent, but found more appreciation of his art in England and Spain. The most important of the immediate predecessors of Rubens were two families of artists, the Pourbus and the Breughels. Peter Pourbus (1510-84), a Bruges painter of portraits and religious subjects, had a son Frans Pourbus (1545-81), who settled in Antwerp. He in turn had a still more famous son, Frans Pourbus the Younger (1570-1622) who painted portraits not only in Antwerp but also at the Court of Henri IV in Paris. Young Pourbus, seven years older than Rubens, was one of the few of his contemporaries in Antwerp who not only never worked for Rubens but may have had some influence on his early style.
The founder of the Breughel family was Peter Breughel (c. 1525-69), whose dramatic ‘Adoration of the Magi’ was secured for the National Gallery in 1921. Another interesting example of his forcible but primitive style, ‘Sacking a Village’ is at Hampton Court. This painter had two sons, Peter, known as ‘Hell’ Breughel (1564-1638), because of his choice of subjects, and a younger, Jan, nicknamed ‘Velvet’ Breughel (1568-1625), on account of the softness of his painting. The father made Brussels his headquarters, but the sons settled in Antwerp, where, notwithstanding his seniority, Jan Breughel eventually became an assistant to Rubens.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
The Art Of Rubens, Van Dyck, And The Flemish Portrait-Painters
Painter, courtier, scholar, and diplomatist, Peter Paul Rubens is one of the most picturesque figures in European history. In origin he belonged to the upper middle class, for though his grandfather had been a tanner of Antwerp, his father John Rubens (1530-87) had taken his degree at an Italian university and subsequently attained considerable civic importance in Antwerp. At that time Flanders was under Spanish rule, and trouble with the authorities over political and religious matters drove the Protestant John Rubens and his family into exile at Cologne. There he became the intimate counselor of William the Silent, and unfortunately, too intimate with his patron’s wife, the Princess of Orange. Their love affair was discovered and Dr John Rubens was thrown into prison, from which he was only released after the Prince had divorced his wife. He did not long survive his imprisonment, and died at Cologne in 1587.
All this had its influence on young Peter Paul, who was born at Siegen, Westphalia, in 1577, one year after the death of Titian. Political complications had already driven his father from Antwerp, and so the boy spent his early childhood in exile. He was only ten years old when his father died, and then his mother returned to Antwerp, taking her three children with her, Blandina the eldest, a young woman of twenty-three, Philippe a boy of thirteen, and Peter Paul the youngest. By a curious coincidence, just as only one year separated the birth of Peter Paul Rubens from the death of Titian, so again one year divided the death of John Rubens from that of Paul Veronese (1588), whose art his son was destined to develop and glorify.
After her daughter’s marriage in 1590, the widow Rubens was able to say in a letter that both her sons were earning their living—so we know that their schooldays in Antwerp were short: Philippe obtained a place in the office of a town councillor of Brussels, while Peter Paul was Page of Honor to the Princess Margaret de Ligne-Aremberg. This gave the future diplomatist his first experience of court life; but it was short one, for already he felt art to be his true vocation, and in 1591 the lad of fourteen was allowed to begin his training as a painter in the studio of his cousin Tobias Verhaeght.
Here it may be well to recall that since the death of Mabuse in 1533 there had been no painter of the first rank in Flanders. Lucas da Heere (1534-84), a capable portrait-painter, though born at Ghent, worked chiefly in France and England. Returning to Flanders he could get little employment, and he died in poverty at Paris. A more successful portrait-painter, Antonio Moro (1519-78), better known as Sir Anthony More, also began his career in Ghent, but found more appreciation of his art in England and Spain. The most important of the immediate predecessors of Rubens were two families of artists, the Pourbus and the Breughels. Peter Pourbus (1510-84), a Bruges painter of portraits and religious subjects, had a son Frans Pourbus (1545-81), who settled in Antwerp. He in turn had a still more famous son, Frans Pourbus the Younger (1570-1622) who painted portraits not only in Antwerp but also at the Court of Henri IV in Paris. Young Pourbus, seven years older than Rubens, was one of the few of his contemporaries in Antwerp who not only never worked for Rubens but may have had some influence on his early style.
The founder of the Breughel family was Peter Breughel (c. 1525-69), whose dramatic ‘Adoration of the Magi’ was secured for the National Gallery in 1921. Another interesting example of his forcible but primitive style, ‘Sacking a Village’ is at Hampton Court. This painter had two sons, Peter, known as ‘Hell’ Breughel (1564-1638), because of his choice of subjects, and a younger, Jan, nicknamed ‘Velvet’ Breughel (1568-1625), on account of the softness of his painting. The father made Brussels his headquarters, but the sons settled in Antwerp, where, notwithstanding his seniority, Jan Breughel eventually became an assistant to Rubens.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
From Gothic To Baroque Rose Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The early Gothic types of flat-bottomed diamonds gradually gave way to a new design inspired by the Baroque style in art and architecture. The early type was simply called ‘faceted’. The new style was described as Rose Cut, a term which was then applied to both the Gothic and the Baroque flat-bottomed diamond. The name “Rose’ was used, confusingly, both for these flat-bottomed single gems and for the combinations of pave-set small diamonds. My suggestions for updating the terminology of the sequence from basic forms to full-cut designs are as follows:
1. Chips or Splinters: These were used only for the most primitive, poor quality, flat-bottomed gems. Because of their flatness and the small number of irregular, randomly distributed facets, they lacked the fascination demanded of a diamond and consequently seldom found a market. During the Gothic period they were usually rejected altogether and often simply ground into powder.
2. Chiffres: These are still used for inexpensive jewelry, but only in small sizes. Slight polishing gives them the form of a flattish triangular pyramid with rounded edges. If thick enough, they can be rounded by bruting into three-facet Roses. This form is also still in use.
3. Six-facet Roses: If these had hexagonal outlines they kept the same form as they had in earlier days. If they were very flat they were often called mode-roses (vlakke or vlake Moderoozen in Dutch). Like the Chiffres, they were occasionally rounded. More often they were crowned, becoming, in fact, kruinige Moderoozen, an intermediate step on the way to full cut Crowned Rose Cuts.
4. Crowned or Twelve-facet Roses: The twelve-facet Rose represents the initial stage of the Baroque Rose, an innovation which radically changed the design of flat-bottomed diamonds. This basic shape was found to produce some brilliance but, like the modern single-cut diamond, there are only sufficient facets if the stone is very small. The facets are stepped to produce a Crowned Rose with a brilliance superior to that of trihedral Roses, but with no fire.
The great center for the manufacture of this type of diamond was Antwerp, but it was also produced in Brabant, where cutters who had left Antwerp to escape taxation had established themselves. Another center was Charleroi, to the south of Antwerp. Twelve-facet Roses were often named after Antwerp or Brabant, and occasionally after Charleroi.
Twelve-facet Roses were usually further fashioned into:
5. Eighteen-facet Roses: These were originally produced in Amsterdam and were fairly popular during the nineteenth century but are now considered to be incomplete Rose Cuts, comparable to the old ‘double-cut’ diamonds defined under Complementary Cuts.
6. Twenty-four facet Angular and Regular Full Rose Cuts: The former are called ‘angular’ because no rounding has been done, so that they retain a twelve-sided outline with a knife-sharp girdle. In other words, they are completely fashioned apart from rounding. Since Roses are hardly ever absolutely circular and their outline is, in any case, hidden by the setting, the angular type is included only to indicate that Full Rose Cuts are not always properly finished.
The earliest documented piece of jewelry which contains Full Rose Cuts is the ‘Fellowship Pendant’ in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. Originally there were three pendants belonging to the ‘Fellowship of Fraternal Love and Friendship’. Established in 1594 by Frederick William, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Administrator of the Electoral House of Saxony for the three youngest sons of Christian I. The only surviving pendant (the other two were probably handed over to the Wettinian family in 1924) is in such perfect condition that it looks as if it has never been worn. The Full Rose Cut diamonds are certainly not later replacements and therefore probably date from as early as the end of the sixteenth century. There are three Roses, one at the top and one on each side of the frame. The square-cut diamond below the pendant is a Mirror Cut. The diamond close to the eyelet is simply a fragment of what might have been a basically faceted Gothic Rose. Thomas Cletscher (c. 1625) reproduced an enormous number of illustrations of these ‘modern’ Full Rose Cuts, undoubtedly achieved by cleaving. The earliest reference to cleaving, however, as Eric Bruton says, appears to have been made by Tavernier in the original French edition of his book published in 1676.
At first, full Rose Cuts tended to be rather flat, because thicker rough was fashioned into the contemporary Taille en Seize. Only when the latter went out of fashion did Rose Cuts become higher, often very high. Examples can be seen on the crown of Queen Louisa Ulrica of Sweden, dating from 1751 and all set with Regular Full Rose Cuts; on the epaulette of the French King Louis XV, and on the shoulder knot of Augustus the Strong.
In the nineteenth century most of these high Roses were refashioned into Brilliants. Rose Cuts as principal gems lost their great popularity, but the demand for small, flat and therefore inexpensive Roses increased enormously. These were mainly designed to embellish informal jewels.
The early Gothic types of flat-bottomed diamonds gradually gave way to a new design inspired by the Baroque style in art and architecture. The early type was simply called ‘faceted’. The new style was described as Rose Cut, a term which was then applied to both the Gothic and the Baroque flat-bottomed diamond. The name “Rose’ was used, confusingly, both for these flat-bottomed single gems and for the combinations of pave-set small diamonds. My suggestions for updating the terminology of the sequence from basic forms to full-cut designs are as follows:
1. Chips or Splinters: These were used only for the most primitive, poor quality, flat-bottomed gems. Because of their flatness and the small number of irregular, randomly distributed facets, they lacked the fascination demanded of a diamond and consequently seldom found a market. During the Gothic period they were usually rejected altogether and often simply ground into powder.
2. Chiffres: These are still used for inexpensive jewelry, but only in small sizes. Slight polishing gives them the form of a flattish triangular pyramid with rounded edges. If thick enough, they can be rounded by bruting into three-facet Roses. This form is also still in use.
3. Six-facet Roses: If these had hexagonal outlines they kept the same form as they had in earlier days. If they were very flat they were often called mode-roses (vlakke or vlake Moderoozen in Dutch). Like the Chiffres, they were occasionally rounded. More often they were crowned, becoming, in fact, kruinige Moderoozen, an intermediate step on the way to full cut Crowned Rose Cuts.
4. Crowned or Twelve-facet Roses: The twelve-facet Rose represents the initial stage of the Baroque Rose, an innovation which radically changed the design of flat-bottomed diamonds. This basic shape was found to produce some brilliance but, like the modern single-cut diamond, there are only sufficient facets if the stone is very small. The facets are stepped to produce a Crowned Rose with a brilliance superior to that of trihedral Roses, but with no fire.
The great center for the manufacture of this type of diamond was Antwerp, but it was also produced in Brabant, where cutters who had left Antwerp to escape taxation had established themselves. Another center was Charleroi, to the south of Antwerp. Twelve-facet Roses were often named after Antwerp or Brabant, and occasionally after Charleroi.
Twelve-facet Roses were usually further fashioned into:
5. Eighteen-facet Roses: These were originally produced in Amsterdam and were fairly popular during the nineteenth century but are now considered to be incomplete Rose Cuts, comparable to the old ‘double-cut’ diamonds defined under Complementary Cuts.
6. Twenty-four facet Angular and Regular Full Rose Cuts: The former are called ‘angular’ because no rounding has been done, so that they retain a twelve-sided outline with a knife-sharp girdle. In other words, they are completely fashioned apart from rounding. Since Roses are hardly ever absolutely circular and their outline is, in any case, hidden by the setting, the angular type is included only to indicate that Full Rose Cuts are not always properly finished.
The earliest documented piece of jewelry which contains Full Rose Cuts is the ‘Fellowship Pendant’ in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. Originally there were three pendants belonging to the ‘Fellowship of Fraternal Love and Friendship’. Established in 1594 by Frederick William, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Administrator of the Electoral House of Saxony for the three youngest sons of Christian I. The only surviving pendant (the other two were probably handed over to the Wettinian family in 1924) is in such perfect condition that it looks as if it has never been worn. The Full Rose Cut diamonds are certainly not later replacements and therefore probably date from as early as the end of the sixteenth century. There are three Roses, one at the top and one on each side of the frame. The square-cut diamond below the pendant is a Mirror Cut. The diamond close to the eyelet is simply a fragment of what might have been a basically faceted Gothic Rose. Thomas Cletscher (c. 1625) reproduced an enormous number of illustrations of these ‘modern’ Full Rose Cuts, undoubtedly achieved by cleaving. The earliest reference to cleaving, however, as Eric Bruton says, appears to have been made by Tavernier in the original French edition of his book published in 1676.
At first, full Rose Cuts tended to be rather flat, because thicker rough was fashioned into the contemporary Taille en Seize. Only when the latter went out of fashion did Rose Cuts become higher, often very high. Examples can be seen on the crown of Queen Louisa Ulrica of Sweden, dating from 1751 and all set with Regular Full Rose Cuts; on the epaulette of the French King Louis XV, and on the shoulder knot of Augustus the Strong.
In the nineteenth century most of these high Roses were refashioned into Brilliants. Rose Cuts as principal gems lost their great popularity, but the demand for small, flat and therefore inexpensive Roses increased enormously. These were mainly designed to embellish informal jewels.
The Beautiful Blonde Liked Emeralds
Louis Kornitzer's book, Gem Trader, is partly autobiographical and partly woven round the lore of pearls. It's educational + explains the distribution chain of gems, as they pass from hand to hand, from miner to cutter, from merchant to millionaire, from courtesan to receiver of stolen goods, shaping human lives as they go + the unique characters in the industry.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
But modern prospectors have failed to rediscover the emerald mines of the Incas. It is known that before the conquest of Peru by the Incas the people of that country obtained huge quantities of emeralds; and even long after they had lost their independence they were still able to obtain the precious gems by some means. In Prescott’s Conquest of Peru there is an account of how the Spaniards under Pizarro came to the province of Quito and found ‘the fair River of Emeralds, so called from the quarries of the beautiful gem on its borders, from which the Indian monarchs enriched their treasury.’ But modern adventurers have not found those quarries, though the emerald deposits from which in our own day the best stones come are also in South America, near Bogota, capital of the Republic of Colombia.
Siberia also produces emeralds. Comparatively recently they were discovered—in company with aquamarines and alexandrites—in the Ural mountains, on the River Takovaya, some sixty miles N.E from Ekaterinburg. Other localities in which the gem has been found—not always of anything like first-rate quality, however—are the Salzburg Alps (Habachthal), and in Norway and New South Wales. In the U.S.A they are found in the hiddenite workings at Stonypoint, Alexander County, N.C.
Hernando Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, was given, or otherwise obtained from Montezuma, large quantities of emeralds which he dispatched to the Spanish Court. But there were certain gems which he reserved as a gift for his bride, notably several emeralds carved in the shape of a fish, a hunting horn, a bell and a small cup.
These gems excited the admiration of the Court ladies, says Prescott again (this time in his Conquest of Mexico), and, perhaps unfortunately for Cortes, the desire of his queen, Isabella. ‘The queen of Charles the Fifth, it is said—it may be the idle gossip of a Court—had intimated a willingness to become proprietor of some of these magnificent baubles; and the preference which Cortes gave to his fair bride caused some feelings of estrangement in the royal bosom, which had an unfavorable influence on the future fortunes of the marquess.’
Feelings of estrangement are easily produced in royal bosoms, and it is therefore not impossible that emeralds brought about the downfall of the conqueror of Mexico, just as in his time they lured on the conqueror of Peru.
There is a footnote to this mention of Pizarro in Peru. The morning after I had written the foregoing passage I opened my morning paper and read this letter from a correspondent:
‘Sir,
Your correspondent is wrong in believing that the Inca treasure designated ‘Big Fish’ is buried beneath Cuzco. In 1575 a direct descendant, or cacique, of the Chimu dynasty, which was destroyed by the Inca conquerors 200 years before, still lived in the ancient Chimu capital near to what is now known as Trujillo on the coast. A young Spaniard, trading as a pedlar between Lima and Trujillo, became so attached to the cacique that he became godfather to two of the cacique’s children.
‘The cacique took him one day to a cave among the ruins of the ancient city and showed him an immense wealth of idols and other articles of gold. In the center of the room was a table of silver, upon which was a model of a fish, the body of gold and the eyes formed by two splendid emeralds.
‘The Spaniard was stupefied at the sight and the cacique said; ‘This is all yours. Today I give you the Peche Chico or Little Fish. If you fulfil the vows you have made to me to devote one-fourth to the Church and look after the poor, I will one day take you the Peche Grande, or Big Fish.’
‘The amount realized on the Peche Chico must have been enormous, because the fifth which went to the Royal Treasury of Spain, according to the old records, was 85000 castellanos of gold. The young Spaniard went to Lima and in a few years dissipated his wealth in luxurious living. He returned to the old cacique for the Peche Grande, but met with stern refusal for not having kept his vow. Many efforts have been made, and seven syndicates have been formed, to explore the ruins, but with no result.’
Daily Telegraph, April 22nd, 1938.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
But modern prospectors have failed to rediscover the emerald mines of the Incas. It is known that before the conquest of Peru by the Incas the people of that country obtained huge quantities of emeralds; and even long after they had lost their independence they were still able to obtain the precious gems by some means. In Prescott’s Conquest of Peru there is an account of how the Spaniards under Pizarro came to the province of Quito and found ‘the fair River of Emeralds, so called from the quarries of the beautiful gem on its borders, from which the Indian monarchs enriched their treasury.’ But modern adventurers have not found those quarries, though the emerald deposits from which in our own day the best stones come are also in South America, near Bogota, capital of the Republic of Colombia.
Siberia also produces emeralds. Comparatively recently they were discovered—in company with aquamarines and alexandrites—in the Ural mountains, on the River Takovaya, some sixty miles N.E from Ekaterinburg. Other localities in which the gem has been found—not always of anything like first-rate quality, however—are the Salzburg Alps (Habachthal), and in Norway and New South Wales. In the U.S.A they are found in the hiddenite workings at Stonypoint, Alexander County, N.C.
Hernando Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, was given, or otherwise obtained from Montezuma, large quantities of emeralds which he dispatched to the Spanish Court. But there were certain gems which he reserved as a gift for his bride, notably several emeralds carved in the shape of a fish, a hunting horn, a bell and a small cup.
These gems excited the admiration of the Court ladies, says Prescott again (this time in his Conquest of Mexico), and, perhaps unfortunately for Cortes, the desire of his queen, Isabella. ‘The queen of Charles the Fifth, it is said—it may be the idle gossip of a Court—had intimated a willingness to become proprietor of some of these magnificent baubles; and the preference which Cortes gave to his fair bride caused some feelings of estrangement in the royal bosom, which had an unfavorable influence on the future fortunes of the marquess.’
Feelings of estrangement are easily produced in royal bosoms, and it is therefore not impossible that emeralds brought about the downfall of the conqueror of Mexico, just as in his time they lured on the conqueror of Peru.
There is a footnote to this mention of Pizarro in Peru. The morning after I had written the foregoing passage I opened my morning paper and read this letter from a correspondent:
‘Sir,
Your correspondent is wrong in believing that the Inca treasure designated ‘Big Fish’ is buried beneath Cuzco. In 1575 a direct descendant, or cacique, of the Chimu dynasty, which was destroyed by the Inca conquerors 200 years before, still lived in the ancient Chimu capital near to what is now known as Trujillo on the coast. A young Spaniard, trading as a pedlar between Lima and Trujillo, became so attached to the cacique that he became godfather to two of the cacique’s children.
‘The cacique took him one day to a cave among the ruins of the ancient city and showed him an immense wealth of idols and other articles of gold. In the center of the room was a table of silver, upon which was a model of a fish, the body of gold and the eyes formed by two splendid emeralds.
‘The Spaniard was stupefied at the sight and the cacique said; ‘This is all yours. Today I give you the Peche Chico or Little Fish. If you fulfil the vows you have made to me to devote one-fourth to the Church and look after the poor, I will one day take you the Peche Grande, or Big Fish.’
‘The amount realized on the Peche Chico must have been enormous, because the fifth which went to the Royal Treasury of Spain, according to the old records, was 85000 castellanos of gold. The young Spaniard went to Lima and in a few years dissipated his wealth in luxurious living. He returned to the old cacique for the Peche Grande, but met with stern refusal for not having kept his vow. Many efforts have been made, and seven syndicates have been formed, to explore the ruins, but with no result.’
Daily Telegraph, April 22nd, 1938.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Burmese Ruby Vs Consumers
This is the real story. Many consumers don't see the link between Burmese rubies and human rights abuses in Burma. Those who are aware of the problems in Burma can't make up their mind, especially the gem trade, because rubies are special and more than 90% come from Burma, with treatments done in Thailand, at an affordable cost. Consumers love cheap but beautiful rubies.
Many consumers are even confused with gem lab reports on origin and treatments. What's surprising to me is that there are many gem schools + labs at all major cities in the world + the internet provides free info on gemstones, treatments, synthetics, human rights issues, mining, child labor and so on, and yet when you talk to consumers on important issues related to high value gems such as rubies, especially Burmese, you see 'momentary autism'. They just go blank--inert. Sometimes it's yes yes, no no situation. It looks like no one knows how to connect the dots.
What do you think?
Many consumers are even confused with gem lab reports on origin and treatments. What's surprising to me is that there are many gem schools + labs at all major cities in the world + the internet provides free info on gemstones, treatments, synthetics, human rights issues, mining, child labor and so on, and yet when you talk to consumers on important issues related to high value gems such as rubies, especially Burmese, you see 'momentary autism'. They just go blank--inert. Sometimes it's yes yes, no no situation. It looks like no one knows how to connect the dots.
What do you think?
King Christian’s Crown
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
A masterpiece in gold and colored enamel, the crown was made for the coronation in 1596 of Christian IV of Denmark by Dirk Fyring and Corvinianus Sauer. It was set with pearls and with 294 diamonds—large Table Cuts, numerous Gothic Roses with both basic and trihedral faceting, and two diamond Rosettes.
Sauer, a well-known creative goldsmith, was born in Augsburg but learned his trade in France and Venice. He was employed by Fyring, a master goldsmith from north Germany, and came to Odense some time before 1581 to work for the Danish royal family. A number of his drawings are incorporated in a book of designs by Jacob Moore, now in the Hamburg City Library. Moore redesigned Sauer’s creations and therefore the diamonds may not all be correctly reproduced in his book.
A masterpiece in gold and colored enamel, the crown was made for the coronation in 1596 of Christian IV of Denmark by Dirk Fyring and Corvinianus Sauer. It was set with pearls and with 294 diamonds—large Table Cuts, numerous Gothic Roses with both basic and trihedral faceting, and two diamond Rosettes.
Sauer, a well-known creative goldsmith, was born in Augsburg but learned his trade in France and Venice. He was employed by Fyring, a master goldsmith from north Germany, and came to Odense some time before 1581 to work for the Danish royal family. A number of his drawings are incorporated in a book of designs by Jacob Moore, now in the Hamburg City Library. Moore redesigned Sauer’s creations and therefore the diamonds may not all be correctly reproduced in his book.
Venom
(via New Yorker): In my view, the New Yorker magazine article titled 'Spider Woman' (March 5, 2007 issue, "A Reporter at Large" segment) provides a interesting 'blink' when you analyze the concept in the gem/art market perspective. I have heard gem/art dealers describing 'Venom Syndrome' with various interpretations. Then I came across the article + it makes sense. 'A single spider can inject its victims with as many as two hundred compounds: proteases that dissolve flesh, gelatinases that dissolve connective tissues, neurotoxins that short-circuit nerves, slow the heart, and freeze the limbs. A spider's venom offers a window onto its evolution, Bindford says — a chemical record of its most successful experiments at killing prey.'
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