Autumn in the Garden of Adin

Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas


In all we do, and hear, and see,
Is restless Toil, and Vanity.
While yet the rolling earth abides,
Fashion comes and goes like ocean tides;

And ere one style dies,
Another trend shall rise;
That, sinking soon into the grave,
Others succeed, like wave on wave;

part of the poem "Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas."
by Anne Brontë (1820-1849)
(freely rendered)

In the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic still life painting especially associated with Northern European painters in Flanders and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity.

By the 16th century flowers would appear (again) as symbols of the seasons. Starting in Roman times is the tradition of the use symbols of mortality, transience and earthly remains. These so called vanitas images have been re-interpreted through the last 400 years of art history, starting with Dutch painters around 1600. It is from these paintings that the Gardener took his inspiration for this Garden of Adin Vanitas Vanitatum.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful Dutch rose cut diamonds brooch.

Antiqualy yours,

The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Flowers are love's truest language

(But sometimes even the truth needs a little help)

Flowers are part of our daily life. For virtually every event we have assigned a special flower. Flowers for love, church, church graveyard, marriage, etc. In the 16th century inn's use to have a branch or flower stalk as signboard which later often changed only into the name of a specific tree or flower. Many times one finds flower gardens in mythological sceneries. The allegoric use of flowers is uncountable: attributes for the springtime, the youth, the sunrise, the rhetoric, the virtue etc. Lots of countries carry a flower as national symbol: Hungary had the tulip and Scotland the thistle, etc.


On our site we have dedicated a page to flower symbolism where you can read much more about the symbolism behind the use of floral motifs. Enjoy!

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent Art Deco ring.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Yes, love grows on trees...

In the Garden of Adin,
in a gentle morning breeze,
Adin's paladin,
bent to his knees
and found love...

growing on trees.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful heart-shaped pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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It was a moonlit night...

Once upon a moonlit night
Two hearts blended
Love surrendered
With embracing arms
Remember


(borrowed from a song by Frank Sinatra)

In Antiquity, as well as in the Middle Ages people believed that the cosmos is reflected in gemstones. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions mingled with Pagan legends led to the association of certain precious stones with different days, months, astrological signs, Tribes of Israel and Apostles but also with healing powers for social, physiological, metaphysical and even medical conditions.

The moonstone is assigned to the planets Neptune and Venus. The combination of moonstone with Venus is interesting as still today it's considered to be a woman's stone. The moonstone is the birthstone or month stone for June. Moonstone should protect travellers, especially from danger by sea, reconciles lovers, brings good fortune, inner growth and strength. (Not that we necessarily promote or believe such claims, but we think they make for interesting conversation.)

In semi-precious stones there are gems and gems but this cabochon cut moonstone is the gem of gems. This top quality fine blue moonstone shows an incredible "three-dimensional" depth of color, which one will see clearly only when playfully tilting the stone and moving it. Transparant with a violet hue when playing with it in the light. Blue moonstones in fine qualities are becoming increasingly short in supply and push up the prices accordingly and to find one in this size is even more rare. Executed in platinum with six old mine brilliant cut diamonds in line pointing towards the moonstone, this jewel is an example how frugal and yet beautiful Art Deco can be.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this beautiful moonstone pendant.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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Archaeological-revival necklace attributed to Fontenay

ANTWERP, September 16 – It is with great pride that we offer this magnificent necklace here. A true museum piece that we are thrilled to have in our collection.

The continuous uniform fringe decorated with beads, wirework and florettes of this necklace is typical for the work of Eugène Fontenay. A demi-parure of very similar design is illustrated in French Jewelry of the Nineteenth Century, Henri Vever, translated by Katherine Purcell, p. 643. and a similar necklace plus matching earrings were sold last year at Sotheby's for $ 52,000!

The archaeological revival is the appellation for neo-styles of the 18th and 19th centuries that where inspired by discoveries in the excavations of Roman, Egyptian, Hellenistic and Etruscan sites. The first revival in the 18th century, which is called neoclassicism, came after excavations of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The second revival was inspired by finds in Etruscan burial sites (in Italy). In jewelry, this style is characterized by granulation and filigree decorations.

There is some discussion among experts on who rediscovered the granulation technique. To some it was Castellani in the 19th Century but various methods of manufacturing and handling of granules have been described by Pliny in 79 AD, V. Biringucchio in 1540, G. Agricola in 1556, B. Cellini in 1568, M. Fachs in 1595 and A. Libavius in 1597/1606. In fact never since it was first used has granulation been a lost art. Until far into the 19th Century, the time of its alleged 'rediscovery', this technique has thrived continuously in many places like Russia, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Tibet and Persia. This also holds true for Swiss, German and Dutch folk-jewelry.

Eugène Fontenay (1823-87) was one of the foremost goldsmiths in France during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was a great admirer of the ancient techniques of granulation and filigree, and became best known for his outstanding work in the 'archaeological' style. Fontenay was no doubt inspired by the Campana collection of ancient jewellery, acquired by Napoleon III in 1860, and his firm produced much work in the antique style based on Greek, Roman and Etruscan examples.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent necklace.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be

P.s. Perhaps you know someone who might be interested in receiving our mails? Forward them this mail and they can subscribe themselves at: our subscription page

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Noah related gold artifact in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, September 13 – Local archaeologists have made an important discovery at the Garden of Adin which might lead to reconsideration of the history and landscape of the site. A report in The Heavenly Inquirer states that the findings include a Caucasian ear pendant made some 1,600 years ago. According to Elkan Wijnberg, general supervisor of antiquities in the Garden of Adin, the discovery of the Caucasian ear pendant is a clear proof of the historical value of the site. He explained us that Caucas, the ancestor of the Caucasians, was the son of Togarmah, who was the son of Japheth who was the grandson of Biblical Noah. He also mentioned the existence of a similar ear pendant in the famous collection of the jewelry museum in Pforzheim, Germany.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent ear pendant

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


P.s. Perhaps you know someone who might be interested in receiving our mails? Forward them this mail and they can subscribe themselves at: our subscription page

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Captured Memories by Tim Holtz

This is good. Be sure and check it out.

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Flowers of gold in the Garden of Adin

ANTWERP, September 06 (Reuters) – When weeding the garden the Gardener stumbled upon a peculiar branch of flowers that was hidden in the tares. Local specialists at the Garden of Adin told us the branch, which consists of three colors of gold and, richly adorned with rubies and diamonds, was made somewhere in the fifties of the last Century.

Click the picture to see a close-up of this magnificent bouquet.

Antiqualy yours,
The Adin team
www.adin.be


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brooches
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