The British collector reported at the auction: this piece of jewelry originates from the Middle East. It was made 300 years before Christ. A golden grape cluster measuring 6 by 3 by 10 millimeters. Very small, therefore. After purchase, the ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ stated that this period should be taken somewhat more broadly: ‘Approximately between 300 years before and 300 years after Christ’. It remains old.
The grape cluster inspired us to mount it ‘floating’ above a hand carved from linden wood. Colored royal blue, mysterious as the Eastern night. The hand is based on an image from Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The deep shadow box frame was sawn from ‘rescued wood’. An old stair tread from a demolition building, of a quality meranti that is no longer available today. Lead-heavy and beautifully reddish-brown in color. I chiseled away the dirty and worn surface centimeter by centimeter. The skin of the frame is now rough, revealing the wood structure.
On the ‘top’ of the frame sits a piece of grapevine that I found many years ago at a winery in southern France. One of the spots where the rough knot was pruned is covered with a layer of 24-karat gold leaf.
The dimensions of the shadow box frame: without grapevine: 20.5 centimeters high, 15 centimeters wide, 9 centimeters deep.
Idea for a new shadow box frame. A golden coin (stater) from the Celts in Belgium/Northern France with the motif of a tree. This coin also dates from before our era. In the background a tree carved in relief in linden wood: the logo of this website. Interested?
