Tuesday, 14 October 2008

Ewer Fabulous

The artifact pictured below recently sold at auction. It fetched more than 3 million pounds, which attracted my attention. It's nice enough at first glance, if a bit fussy and over-worked for my liking. So why is it worth so much? I read on and the first important fact I noted was that it's around 1,000 years old, originally made for the Fatimid court of Cairo.

Hmm, I thought, well that's definitely a long time for glass to survive... but then I read something that I can't stop thinking about. It is not made of glass at all. The translucent bulb of the pitcher was 'carved from a single piece of flawless rock crystal, which was hollowed out, leaving a surface just 2mm thick.' The level of skill, care and patience to do such a thing, without buggering it up is just mind-boggling. This must have required an attention to detail that is adamantly lacking in today's banking industry.

And then to be preserved all this time in pefect condition... I have never really had an interest in tableware before but this is a masterpiece, and I love it.

a really expensive jug.

8 comments:

Daddy Papersurfer said...

Fabulous - but it doesn't look a bit like a fussy 'but' - tee hee [sorry, just lurve 'typos']

Somnambulist said...

Arggghh. HATE typos!

Fussy bigger.

Anonymous said...

A bizarre post, somehow comparing an exquisite artisan & and indulgent patron with today's banking industry.

Let's get this straight! There are only two laws in Economics:

1 the law of Supply & Demand &
2 the law of Diminishing Returns

...everything else is the psychology of masses.

As I wrote in my blog, this whole drama could have been avoided if:

1 the poor sods who had the hysteria-loans had been able to access their superannuation for a few months to pay for their loans and / or renegotiate them

or

2 the govt. had stepped in and propped up the loans for ownership of a percentage of the property, much as they're doing with banks, now!

Of course, that would be too simple, perhaps non free-market but it would have worked.

As for the "jug", consider that there may have been hundreds of attempts before he got it right!

Somnambulist said...

@laog - You are of course right m'lord. About the loans bit. I have read your wise observations before, it just took a little while for the governments to step in and nationalise things.

You could be right about the craftsmanship too. I have no real idea of either the abundance of large chunks of perfect rock crystal, nor of the apprenticeship trials for master carvers 1,000 years ago. All I do know is that agriculture, which may itself have originated in tribal latrines, gave humankind enough time on their hands to pave the way for

a) creating stupendous works of art,
b) religion,
c) a banking system

If you think this started off as a bizarre post, pick the bones out of that. Go on, I dare you ;-)

70steen said...

beautifully flawless and perfection in art.. just makes what we all do for a living looking a little shallow & hedonistic.........


ignore DP I do lol :-)
signed 'typo queen'

Somnambulist said...

@70s - count yourself lucky. My occupatin is just shallow. I dream of doing something even mildly hedonistic.

DP who?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm:

Professor Goulding notices the composition of your Holy Trinity:

Art, Religion & A banking system.

Perhaps your questions might have been different if you had pondered the original Holy Trinity:

Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll.

Andrew Goulding

Somnambulist said...

@laog - that is a good point. I'm pretty certain that your HT predated agriculture. I'm not so sure about mine.

p.s. I prefer yours. I only really like one of my trio...