Thursday, August 2, 2012

Thursday Favorites: My Nielloware Ring

File:Piazza di trevi - fontana di trevi hippocampus crop.jpgThis past Spring I was in England and took a trip down to Brighton to visit an old friend. We spent all day Saturday just strolling through the narrow streets and various shops. There was a great flee market where I spotted a table full of silver, and was shocked to see quite a display of Nielloware. I picked up a great little ring with an unusual design. 

You can read more about Nielloware, the etched silver process, in my blog from last week. Many of these pieces depict figures from mythology, and my ring had a hippocampus on it. I didn't realize it at the time. I just liked the ring. But once home, my 9-year-old said "mom you have a hippocampus on your ring" ... "a what?"  She ran off to her room and came back with her large volume of mythology and pointed to a picture. Sure enough; it was definitely a hippocampus. But what IS a hippocampus?

The hippocamp, or hippocampus is from Greek for 'horse monster,' often called sea-horse. It is a mythological creature depicted as a horse in the forepart with a coiling, scaly, fish-like hindquarter. Homer called this character Poseidon Hippios, God of horses. Roman imagery uses a sea-chariot drawn by hippocampi. The statue here is of Triton with a hippocamp at the foot of the Trevi fountain in Rome. Huh, well I guess I learned something new from my daughter.

11 comments:

  1. It's lovely, like some sort of ancient artifact. Interestingly, the hippocampus is also a big part of the brains of humans and other mammals :)

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  2. Lovely!!I really like your kind of blog really interesting and different from all others blog!

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  3. Very cool ring! I love that your daughter knew exactly what the creature is! I loved reading the Greek myths at her age but should start reading them again. Very entertaining.

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  4. Gorgeous! Great work once again, dear! :)

    XoXo
    Plami

    http://www.fashionthrill.com/

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  5. Very pretty!
    Thank you so much for joining us in Thursdays Favorite Things Blog Hop! With His grace, wishing you peace and many blessings to you and yours... Carla

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  6. Wow I love the diversity of your blog, beautifully presented.

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  7. Wow your daughter is smart! I have never heard of a hippocampus before :)

    xo

    Ashley

    Southern (California) Belle

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  8. wow! Thank you for your bloggy friendship and for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo

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  9. Don't you just love it when you are lucky enough to find interesting and unique items that you can make your own. TFS

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  10. Hi dear :) amazing blog hun! what do you think of following each other on GFC and bloglovin'? Let me know
    Keep in touch

    http://thefrench-fries.blogspot.pt/´

    xx

    p.s: eneter in y internacional giveaway

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