Friday, July 29, 2016

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - July Reveal, Part 2

To see Part #1, go here! To see the Introductory Entry, go here!
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And now, it's time for the second set that I made for this month's Mayan-inspired monthly challenge!

As simplistic as it might sound, the main inspiration for this set was jade. Straight-up jade. And not just any jade, either, but he not-too-dark and not-too-blue-green jade used in this particular carving:

Not my picture!
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

...And while I didn't actually use jade to make this set, it is actually the most expensive thing that I made for this challenge--at least as far as materials are concerned!


Set #2


Now, you might look at that and ask, how is that the most expensive set that I made for this challenge? It is not a very complicated design, after all--just a combination of rounds and rondelles.

Well, that set just happens to be made entirely with copper and chrysoprase. Hand-cut chrysoprase. (No, not by me--I don't have that ability at this moment.) And while chyrsoprase is not jadeite, it is definitely not cheap!


And that's why I kept the design simple--to better highlight the beauty of the stones.



I also had other inspiration to keep the design fairly simple: the funerary jewelry of Pakal, king of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. While this jewelry is certainly impressive (notice the earflares!), you'll notice that amongst the intricate designs, he is also wearing strands of jade rounds:

The funerary jewelry of Pakal, king of Palenque.
Not my photo!
From this blog entry about the Jewelry of the Ancient Americas.

And, well, if it's good enough for Pakal, it's definitely good enough for me!


So, there you go! That is Set #2! Jade-colored chrysoprase, strung together with copper findings.

I'm going to take a bit of a break... Come back later tonight (or tomorrow, seeing how long this takes me) to see what else I made!

Until then, have a wonderful evening!

1 comment:

  1. This is the first time that I am coming across mayan ear flares, they are quite interesting

    ReplyDelete

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