The Bacchus mirror is made of large tumbled chunks of natural amethyst topped with a spheres of amethyst. The frame was gilded with silver to bounce light through the crystals. I made small jewels set onto the frame as well as silver beads surrounding the mirror.
The convex mirror is actually a lens that I made of lavender colored resin backed with a mirror.
This mirror is only 7 inches in diameter, suitable to wear if you like big and heavy jewelry(!). It is currently in my studio waiting to be shipped to one of my showrooms. If you are interested contact me directly.
Jewelry for walls.
This mirror is named after the ancient god Bacchus( the Greek name for Bacchus is Dionysius), the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and unrestrained consumption.
The Greek word “amethystos” may be translated as “not drunken”, from Greek a-, “not” + methustos, “intoxicated”. Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why wine goblets were often carved from it. In his poem “L’Amethyste, ou les Amours de Bacchus et d’Amethyste” (Amethyst or the loves of Bacchus and Amethyste), the French poet Remy Belleau(1528–1577) invented a myth in which Bacchus, the god of intoxication, of wine, and grapes was pursuing a maiden named Amethyste, who refused his affections. Amethyste prayed to the gods to remain chaste, a prayer which the chaste goddess Diana answered, transforming her into a white stone. Humbled by Amethyste’s desire to remain chaste, Bacchus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple.
Variations of the story include that Dionysus had been insulted by a mortal and swore to slay the next mortal who crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wrath. The mortal turned out to be a beautiful young woman, Amethystos, who was on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana. Her life was spared by Diana, who transformed the maiden into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god’s tears then stained the quartz purple.
Roman Amethyst Intaglio circa 1st century AD
A carved amethyst goblet. Possibly Victorian. Since amethysts are sacred to Bacchus it is said that drinking from an amethyst vessel will prevent drunkeness.
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