Part of my Lily Dale series, (the largest community of spiritualist mediums, located in Upstate NY, which I visited in the summer of 2010) this piece marks my interest in Victorian Spiritualism, and how it has thrived in the shadows of modern society. Seances were made popular in the mid 1800's and consisted of a group of people who encircled a table, often holding hands, in candle lit darkness to communicate with the 'other side' or the spirit world. These gatherings were popular during the Victorian era, and it's said even President Abraham Lincoln participated in them in the White House during his presidential term.

This act of communicating with the Spirit World is also a metaphor for communicating with one's Self, the Unconscious, or the Shadow Self we only catch a glimpse of from time to time.

*Details* : 

- 68 mm from top to bottom of tear

- 9 x 13 mm pear cut Mother of Pearl  

- Shown on Miguel on a 20 inch chain

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 Mother of Pearl cabochons 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 cabochons and the cuts.

Please note they range slightly in color but these are light cream in color with a pearlescent flash. Some of the cabochons have a subtle iridescence which includes shades of pink, blue, and green when turned in the light.

***IMPORTANT***                  

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This necklace is handmade to order, just for you. Please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for creation before shipping.

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