Tristan and Isolde – silver necklace
Tristan and Isolde are the main characters of a Celtic legend dating back to the 12th century, which is also the most famous romance of the Middle Ages. The legend was the inspiration for many literary works (e.g. Bedier) or musical art pieces (Wagner’s musical drama). It tells the story of the tragic love of the Irish princess Isolde of the Hair of Gold and the knight Tristan, nephew of the King of Cornwall – Mark. The princess’s golden hair was brought by swallows from across the sea, and King Mark, pressed by the courtiers about an urgent marriage, perhaps under the spell of the beauty of the owner of the golden hair, decided that he would marry only her. Tristan set out to find the Princess of the Hair of Gold and won the right to Isolde’s hand in marriage for his king by defeating a dragon that was wreaking havoc in Ireland. On their way back to the court in Cornwall, Tristan and Isolde accidentally drank the love potion prepared by Isolde’s mother for her and the king. The spell made them fall in love with each other with limitless love and passion. Despite this, the wedding of King Mark and Isolde takes place. The strength of love between Tristan and Isolde does not weaken and the lovers secretly meet. They are caught and sentenced to death. Miraculously, they manage to escape and find shelter in the forest, where they were happy despite the difficult living conditions. The king found out where to find them and set out in person to punish them. However, when he saw that they were sleeping on one bed but separated by a sword, he was moved and forgave them for their betrayal. King Mark allowed Isolde to return to the court. And to prove her purity, she successfully passed the “Judgment of God”, i.e. the test of holding red-hot iron. Tristan had to leave the country. He married Isolde of the White Hands, all the time suffering and longing for Isolde of the Hair of Gold. When he was wounded in battle by a poisoned lance, he asked his friend to help him see his beloved one for the last time. The friend sailed for Isolde of the Hair of Gold, but as they were approaching their destination, the jealous wife lied to Tristan that Isolde would not come. After receiving the unfavorable news, the knight died of despair. Isolde of the Hair of Gold did not have time to say goodbye to him. She lay down at her beloved’s side and also died. They were buried in separate graves, but a hawthorn bush grew from Tristan’s grave and immersed itself in Isolde’s grave. When it was cut down, it kept growing back. Finally, by order of King Mark, the hawthorn was let to grow. It is a symbol of eternal, true and indestructible love.
This story is much more intricate and deep, so I encourage those interested to read it more fully. It is also the inspiration woven into this unique jewelry piece, which was created on a special order. I used garnets that the Client collected in their natural state and asked to use them in the project. The silver bottle, made of hawthorn shoots and leaves, is filled with raw garnets nuggets. The stones at the top and bottom of the bottle also come from the Client’s material, which I cut and polished for the project. On the bottle cap there is a swallow carrying golden hair. The bottle itself is decorated with numerous faceted garnets (54 pieces), also inside the bottle closure (7 pieces). The pendant is composed of strings of faceted garnets, and the clasp refers to the leaves, flowers and fruits of hawthorn, which are also made of garnets.
Dimensions: bottle height 10.7 cm, width approx. 2.7 cm, depth approx. 2 cm; length from the clasp to the end of the garnet strings 29 cm; total length 36.5 cm
Weight: 43.4 g (bottle) + 14.6 g (clasp), total – 79.5 g
925 silver, 14k gold
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The legend of “Tristan and Isolde” and the necklace inspired by it: