Arithmetic of Being

 It seems the last time I posted in either of my blogs was delineated in history as 2012. It is my hope that you dear reader have an open mind as to the question of my seriousness in all this. The seriousness and miraculousness if what has occurred in the earth timeline since that time. It is my understanding that in one translation the world as it was the world then, actually ended, and became a new world. Not in the usual way, which is every moment(___—_______——______), but in a bigger more “significant,” way. However, I must say I did not even notice it happening. Although looking back I might must raise the brows above my eyes and say wow, things-reality-meaning-value-the way things are do seem quite a bit changed. I will leave you to ponder this and perhaps we can pursue this “matter,” on down the line. Oh, ahem, I do know that my use of quotation marks on certain words is now considered archaic. I still happen to like that though. Just an old fashioned being. Please don’t sue. I am basically unmonied. 

Lotus~Dodecahedral~Sacred Geometry Plate

Even the tiny four-petaled flowers~~one in the center  of the star  and one centered within  each of the 12 flying-saucer shapes, circling the 12-pointed star (lotus?) ~~are filled with tiny lines, which are, it seems, impossible to photograph with the equipment I have. I said the shapes are like flying saucers, but perhaps they are like birds or ??? I don't know how to describe the shape....sort of a repetition of the blossom with two leaves coming from the sides...From some angles they look like masks with blossoms for noses and leaves as eyes. What do you think?

 Not  one person  I have shown this plate to, on first viewing,  has been impressed.  But then upon my urging a closer look, each has been thoroughly taken to wondering  aloud and often for days, where on earth it might be from. What artisan or manufacturer could be capable of such finely detailed  etching, or chasing? The intricate design is admittedly not "perfect." There are a few lines or dots in the wrong place.  But the overall impression is, that whatever process was used, it must have taken hours and hours to complete the very ornate design.

Astonishingly, I found this mysterious plate at a  philanthropic thrift store, placed right out in the open   and priced at $2.00.  It seems to be rare.  As to its  monetary value or worth, I can only say that I don't know.   When I started researching the  symbolic or religious significance it might have, skimming books and Googling,  at first I found nothing. But over the course of a week, I found that   a star with 12 points was significant in  early Christian symbolism and  also in  the Judaic religious belief system,  symbolizing the  12  tribes.  However,  in that case, usually the 12 points are the outer  expansion of a six -pointed star.  The twelve-pointed stars in  the diagrams that I saw  explaining this concept don't look similar to me. But I might well be missing something.
 

Because it is hard to duplicate the  rich metallic colors, I have photographed it on varied backgrounds.

I also found that the number 12-- repeated over and over in the pattern of the plate-- was meaningful as a symbol of a lotus in Buddhism, which represents perhaps, purity and enlightenment.   As the lotus, rooted in the mud  we reach up through the mud of life, the murky waters to the  beautiful crown of realization...or  something like that.  There seem to be many people espousing their own take on the esoteric meaning of the lotus. 



To the Egyptians, according to some experts, the lotus, symbolized by the 12-pointed star, represents rebirth. 

The concept of rebirth arises again (oh, interesting choice of words "arises again") when one considers that the plate has a dodecahedral design. Perhaps this is but an accident of chasing and hammering, but I think not. The plate was certainly not meant to be flat. I'm thinking that the  shape was  significant to the maker of the plate. The dodecahedral shape symbolizes regeneration for diverse mystics, according to various sacred texts. 

Actually, I did not understand all that I read and don't really understand how the plate might serve in any rituals.  Perhaps it is something one could meditate on and realize some  great truth, rather than  being any actual instigator of regeneration. Or maybe it is one of those plates one passes around for  congregants to  place money in--an offering plate.  Maybe it is a portal.... a plate with a secret that only the master of sacred geometry can decipher.

It  dawned on me, that when turned over and held in soft light, it gives an impression of being a warmly glowing lotus.




  From what I can determine, from my internet and reference book study, it would seem that the process of chasing and hammering was the one used to fashion this spherical  plate.  I don't believe it is a gong, as one of my friends suggested it  might be. However, it is clearly not a plate to dine off of.
When it is flipped over,  the extra- three-dimensional quality is readily apparent.  And the design, which on the  reverse (front) side of the plate might seem overly fine, almost cold in its adherence to the  repetition, assumes a softened,  faint, more graceful loveliness. And  the burnished brass(?)bronze(?)copper (?)otherworldly metal(?) glows softly and almost pulses with a heartbeat, if one is overly imaginative.

It presents an optical illusion, the star-lotus shape is concave from the top and convex on the bottom. But when viewed from the top, it could appear to be the other way.

Is this old? There seem to be no markings on it that would indicate its age or maker or where it was made.  Maybe it is an heirloom or  relic from our ancient Martian ancestors.

Orange & Brown Soapstone Mushroom Man

Mushroom Man soaking up the sun

He is a little scuffed up.

Meditation is good for all that ails you, body and soul.

A man of stone can easily take anything  lying down.

Even though he is only about three and a half inches tall, he weighs almost half a pound. He has an equanimity most yogis would study a lifetime to achieve. Of course he is  made of stone. And being that he's soapstone, he is easily scratched and scarred. But for me  this only adds to his mystique. 
Nobody knows the trouble he's seen. Nobody knows where he's been.
I found  him on a shelf in a second-hand store and he shone like a star amongst the banal crappola. He has a healing message . 


UPDATE:

Silly me, ahem, apparently this mushroom man has something to do with psilocybin.  I am not recommending psilocybin any more then I would recommend any other medicine, as I am not a doctor. But I would not say it's a terrible thing either. I really don't know. I don't think it is a good idea to do anything that is not legal, as it could land you in jail. But under the right circumstances, it seems psilocybin could be helpful in treating certain maladies. Check out this article published in a science journal in Jan 2012 (Yes, that is quite a while ago, but with all the economy and political stuff going on, I never noticed...maybe you didn't either.)   

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152043.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152043.htm

Venus Star Bowl

The bowl has a bronze(ish) patina on the outside and a polished golden inside.

Is this  bowl from the 16th century,  the 1960s, the '80s, or  perchance, is it from the future?   Is it a bath bowl? a medicinal bowl?  A magic bowl? An alms bowl? Is it from India? Iraq? Iran?  Pakistan?Afghanistan? Mexico? China? Some Greek island or some village perched on a Himalayan mountain?

Studying this  repoussé brass bowl has taken me on a journey back through time--all the way to a consideration of the ancient goddesses and  then  through some other strange, meandering,  circular terrain--In my research I viewed  other similarly shaped bowls, but with the antithesis of design--meager lines and waves, rather than the rich and exotic wonders that embellish this bowl

There are myriad pictures of bowls in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that are somehow lacking, in comparison to this bowl. Those bowls do not have the deft charm that this bowl has. They do not have the stirring, mysterious piquancy that lingers into one's dreams, that this brass bowl has.  ;-)

The number 8 is mirrored from the star within the circle,  to the waves of vines. There are four animals and four flowers.

As a former philosophy professor, Pierre Grimes, used to say, “what do you know?”

Although I have examined it closely with my hands and eyes, under various lighting conditions. And I am intrigued by what I feel and see...

After all my research (and I must say here that my research, although relatively extensive, has not extended to consulting experts, nor has it included trips to university libraries), I have come to the conclusion that I don’t know much about this bowl.

Is this a lion? A lemur? A bear?  It is the only animal facing forward.

 I know that the animals on the bowl are not animals that I am familiar with and they don’t resemble  any animal figures  decorating objects from anywhere that I have ever seen. But then, oddly, they do somehow look familiar. Do I know them from dreams? I note that only one animal seems to be viewing the viewer.

Doesn't seem to be the usual Islamic star, although the script would suggest that it could be.............? If it were of religious significance and it were Islamic, the bowl would not have depictions of animals, from what I understand.

Of the  four flowers  placed between the animals, three are  open and one is  just beginning to bloom. (lower right corner).

The script on the sides of the bowl might be Farsi. It might be Thuluth. Maybe it’s Indian. What does it say? I wish I knew.  Is it nonsense,  magic runes, prayers, or poetry? Or is it something more prosaic?

Vines with finely etched leaves snake around and through  the writing.

  As  to what the symbols on it actually  mean or where it might be from...I am still in the dark. How ironic, for although the  eight-pointed star does not seem to be the classic eight-pointed star of Islam. It  does, however, seem to  resemble the Ishtar star--  "Ishtar the Bringer of Light.” The bringer of wisdom?  Or does the star symbolize Venus, who may be the original goddess, whose guises include,Inanna/Ishtar/Astarte?....This is a very confusing and  weighty subject.

It is said that the number eight signifies the infinite. The ever repeating patterns of life renewal. And from what I've read, this is  partly the tale that Venus has to tell.

I found this  bowl in a pile of dusty things that seemed to be the dregs of a garage sale that ended up at some thrift store. Was it my imagination that it seemed to call out to me? I felt shocked to find it in such a place.

Everything on the outside is in low relief on the golden inside.

 I seem to remember that when I took it to the cashier, she remarked that it was  interesting, but very dirty.  I took it home and washed it with a little mild detergent and began to seek answers. I haven’t found anything conclusive. But I will continue to keep my eyes and  ears open. If you the reader, wish to offer any pertinent comments,   I  thank you.

In my wandering I  did find one interesting website about Venus and many other interesting topics. I will include the link here.

    http://www.maverickscience.com/venus-aphrodite.htm

Ganesh Tea Pot?

 This little pitcher (it measures four inches tall by six inches, from handle to spout), appears to me to have a rough resemblance to the great Hindu deity, Ganesha. Although his trunk is not curled, one could see why it would not make sense with his present duty as (water?) pitcher.  The one other authority I questioned on this was not really an authority, he was only a person sitting near me when I decided to write about this.

                                                                               

 He thought that this pot  wasn't Ganesha. He thought that this was just some ordinary pachyderm head. He thought Ganesha has a much fancier face. But I have interesting reasoning powers and so I have deduced that this is indeed a representative Ganesha watering  pitcher, or maybe and more likely, a teapot.  No average elephant would  have those gold-edged, fan -shaped ears.  And look at those wise eyes. Most elephants would not look at you  like that.  

 At first,  I thought this little pitcher/teapot was a cream pitcher. Then I noticed the spout has little  holes. I thought maybe the little holes were more suitable to sprinkle water, maybe holy water? Or water for the special flowers to decorate somebody's shrine? Now I am thinking teapot.  I really don't know yet. But I will keep researching. 

                                                                                     I gave Ganesh the old tap with fingernails test and the ceramic body gives a lovely ringing sound.  But it certainly isn't translucent when I hold it up to the light, so I guess that precludes porcelain and we  might  assume that  it is some other type of ceramic,  maybe simply white clay... For its size, it is  very heavy, suitable  for an elephant head.

                                                                                     

There are no markings anywhere, so I can't be sure where it is originally from.  But I would guess by  the flower design on the forehead and by token of the fact that I believe it to be a  depiction of Ganesha,  this  charming  artifact is a former denizen of India.                                                                                                                         As mentioned previously, the body of the pitcher/teapot , is very heavy, as compared to modern such contrivances. Maybe the artisan was still

practicing his skill, or maybe that was the fashion at the time when this piece was made. It is sturdy!

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As many of you will know, Ganesha was the child of Shiva and Parvati.  There are so many stories about his birth and his attributes.   But briefly stated, it isn't just the Hindus that love the guy. He is widely worshipped or at least admired  by the Jains, some Buddhists and various other religions across the board. Most Christians don't acknowledge him, unless they happen to be the  open-minded-lovers-of-all-mankind type of Christians. Or the Christian-Buddhist-Hindu type of Christians,  Probably Thomas Merton would have been impressed with him.                                                                 GGanesha Ganesa or Ganesh also known as Ganapti,  Vinkaya Vināyaka), and Pillaiyar  And other names as well is supposed to be an excellent remover of obstacles and  will do wonders for the writing (I guess I better start putting flowers in this little pot.) He is also supposed to be good for knowledge and the arts. He has something to do with the first Chakra and the  Kundalini.  
                                                                                                                      
              Okay, that should be enough to whet your appetite,  you study up on him if you like. And if by any chance you run into anything in your research that might shed light on this joyful expression of divine honor, do let us know. We here at the Museum of Stuff Redux are not too prideful to edit. 

Very old and precious jade teapot

I am  pretty sure that this is an ancient  (or  very old) white  jade teapot.  It is probably worth  untold millions.  I have seen that there have been a few jade teapots on the Christie's  auction website that have sold for  something like $1,695,000 And it would be really great if this teapot was worth that, or something anywhere near that :-). Once I showed it to a close relative, who shall remain unnamed,  and she thought it was ugly. It isn't exactly graceful and delicate, not really a finely carved, complicated piece. But I find it to be  beautiful. I bought it at a thrift store for $2.99. It was covered with tape. It was kind of like a grab bag. One could not make out exactly what it was, but I knew it was stone and I knew it was a little teapot, so I splurged.  I took it into a local antique store and the owner was kind of  busy with other customers, who were there actually interested in purchasing her wares. But she kindly had a look at  it and said that she thought it was really jade. (Another time I showed her a necklace that I thought was jade and she sweetly let me know that it was a very nice soapstone necklace.) But  when I showed her this teapot, she looked carefully at it and said that she thought it was jade.  She seemed kind of uncomfortable and almost afraid and said she thought it might be very valuable. (Maybe she was trying to get rid of me)...But she gave me the phone number of a man who deals in Chinese antiques and his email. I emailed him and he responded to the query, telling me he was on his way to China and would return soon and to contact him again and we would arrange a meeting. Then I became excited. I had sent him photos and he wanted to meet. But then I began to think. I wondered if he  just wanted to lure me into his dark shop, so that he could take my  precious teapot. Or worse, he would charge me a fee to tell me it was a fake.  I convinced myself that I shouldn't meet him, after all. That it could be  dangerous or embarrassing. And the truth is,  I really like the teapot. I  don't want to sell it. I don't want to know if it's a fake. The teapot feels like it has been through time. It is mysterious.  I wonder who carved it,  who might have held it in his or her hands and if they ever had tea. Would it have been stained if it had been used for tea? Maybe jade is impervious to stain? I kind of love this tea pot, as much as you can "love" a thing. Maybe I only love it because of its mystery. If I found that it was not worth a great deal of money,  I could go ahead and have a cup of tea and then I might love it even more :-) Unless there is some disturbing chemical like lead in the polish. Hmmm. Perhaps, I had better just use it for pondering.  Or, I can hold it and imagine  that if all else is lost, I can sell it to some very very very rich collector who will place it in a real museum where school children can learn about the history of everything, jade, carving, tea growing and preparation, the whole shebang...how tea makes everything good.  YEAH, even though I have no pension, I do have my fortune in the form of a tea pot. Oh wow  :-)

Someone's Sung

This poster or print that I found in a Goodwill in Cypress, CA has me perplexed.   I thought it would be easy to research it and find out where it is from.  I thought I could date it without months of digging through books at the library.  I thought I would find similar images on the internet , no sweat. All that I have surely found is what an ignorant person I am and have been.  I don't even know what country it is from.   It might be China or  it might be Korea or it might be  chinoiserie from who knows where.   I  have studied several books on Chinese art and Japanese, Korean, etc. and have found that most Chinese and Japanese art have writing and seals on them, unless this is just a panel from a series or a scroll. It looks,   from my admittedly truly-uneducated-in-Oriental-art-perspective to be from the Sung period.  Or it is meant as a copy of something from the Sung period.  BUT PLEASE, If you know better, PLEASE tell me what you think.  I thought perhaps it could be a depiction of a scene from some Chinese opera, perhaps the one where a schoolgirl falls in love with someone in a dream.  The people in the drawing don't look as if they live real lives. They don't look as if they need to walk around a lot.  I believe the seated figure could be a man. Or the seated figure could be a woman. How truly disturbing that I don't know. I was thinking the seated figure could be a mother--due to the shape of her lower anatomy, I reasoned she might have given birth. Maybe this is a portrait of her and her eldest daughter.  Or if that figure is a  young rich man, could he be idle and too well fed and slightly out of shape?  This is so embarrassing.  I can't tell a man from a woman? I think both figures have grace and beauty. Obviously, they lead a genteel life, sitting around the garden.  Why did the artist paint them?  Was it simply because he or she was hired to do so by someone  who wanted a portrait of family members ? Or  was it a desire of the artist to show something  he or she found .....what?  beautiful? curious? somehow meaningful?  All I could find from the label on the back of the frame is that the company made brass lamps and was involved in a  lawsuit with some importers from Korea and another company from China.  They don't seem to exist anymore, although I think they won that lawsuit.  There doesn't seem to be a signature. There is a butterfly on the upper left border.   I've included a photo of that (third photo down), as a clue for any interested viewer. 
I humbly thank you for reading this and if you have any comments.....