IMPORTANT: This jewel is limited and we do not know if they'll be available again in the future. We recommend Express Shipping with signature required upon delivery to make sure it arrives safely into your hands.

Please note: This necklace will be created with an 18" bar link chain. If you desire a different chain length you must reach out to us immediately after placing your order.

Inspired by a merging of the Afterlife series with the Crystal Tomb series, this necklace features a Mother of Pearl pyramid cradled by two sterling silver hummingbird skulls. A sterling bezel holds the quartz so both the tomb front and smooth back are viewed, allowing the stone to "breathe". 

Both collections are inspired by a deep loss I experienced in 2008 after the sudden passing of my father. As a way to seek comfort from my seemingly bottom-less grief, I became interested in how jewelry can take on the feel of a kind of psychic armor. 

Here, the hummingbird sentinels represent the afterlife, cradling the pyramid with a protective stance.The hummingbird is known as the only bird that can fly backwards as well as forwards, suggesting a kind of time traveling or extra sensory ability other birds as symbols lack. Birds in general are often associated with having a place in both the earthly world as well as the spirit world, making them sensitive to death and higher consciousness.

Being relegated to the Western hemisphere only, the hummingbird turns up in native and Aztec lore and myth. The Aztecs wore hummingbird fetishes as emblems of strength, and for the image of their sharp beaks, symbolic of bloodletting and piercing. The image was carved onto the shoulders of priests, and hummingbirds were also considered to be reincarnated warriors. This idea is often found in other cultures and thus the hummingbird is often associated with containing the spirits of those who have crossed over.

The pyramid shape of the stone suggests a tomb, a burial place where the ancient Egyptians laid their Pharaohs to rest. The design was suggestive of the descending rays of the sun and suggested a sort of stairway for the buried dead to ascend into the heavens Pyramids are also symbolically linked with the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created, having arisen from the lifeless waters of Chaos. 

*Details*:

- 31 mm at its widest

- 26 mm tall

- Sits approximately 8 mm off of the body 

- Pendant and chain have been oxidized to our signature shade of gloomy grey and hand finished to reveal the highlights beneath

- 10 mm Mother of Pearl pyramid tomb 

Pearls

Have an ancient history of reverence as well as a long legacy of beauty. Pearls are formed when an external irritant, like a grain of sand, breaches the shell of an oyster or shelled mollusk. Once this irritant has gained entrance within the dark fleshy confines of the oyster, it goes to work protecting itself. If this irritant can’t be expelled, it begins to ‘bandage’ the grain, coating it with concentric rings of calcium carbonate, named ‘narce.’ Each layer that is built up forms the shape of the pearl, awash in a brilliant iridescence, a beauty born of a tiny trespass. Thusly, a pearl has at its center, the object of its creation, a foreign intruder.

I associate the pearl and its strange construction to so many things: the jellied caterpillar struggling within a chrysalis, its liquefied body form a new winged shape. An embedded star smoldering within the shell of our hearts. An ink dot, a pin prick, a moon in miniature. History, who has always loved and revered the pearl, writes that we once believed pearls were the result of lightning striking the shell and penetrating the inner skins of the oyster. A small beauty made in duress, a ‘stone’ of initiation. To possess a pearl means to own something that is hidden, sacred.

Lore has it that Cleopatra, to win a wager with Antony, dissolved a large, exquisite pearl in her drinking glass. She swallowed it in one sip. I wonder about her dreams that night.

These jewels are hand cut and therefore may have very slight differences in size and may have small signs of the carver's hands along the edges. These are not fabricated by a machine, they are made by hand and therefore aren't uniformly perfect.

The photographs accurately portray the quality of the stones and the cuts. 

***IMPORTANT***:

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

Visit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com