Coral Branch Necklace
Representational jewelry is fun!
At Highland River Melees in 2022, Her Majesty honored me with a Coral Branch for my lapidary and silversmithing arts. It was my first time being called to court both under my Aurelio Vitrisoni persona and also in my new kingdom of Atlantia, so it felt very affirming. I wanted to make wearing that award equally special, so I sought out some actual red coral to make a necklace from.
This piece is made from alternating red and white coral beads, two bronze-colored cultured pearls, and a branch of red precious coral held in a sterling wire bail. The piece is strung on coated beading wire and closed with a magnetic clasp. The modern components were used to ensure durability in wear as I take this to events.
Currently, red coral or Corallum rubrum is not considered an endangered species in spite of the organisms’ slow growth rate and over-harvesting in the Mediterranean. The centuries-old practice of pulling red coral from the sea, however, means that those colonies growing at the shallower depths of the Mediterranean have been largely depleted. Scientists have raised concerns about the future of Corallum rubrum because of over-extraction as well as the increasing acidification of the Mediterranean Sea in recent decades. Many countries have implemented harvest and export regulations of Corallum rubrum and related species in order to offer it additional protection.
In light of these concerns, these pieces come from Japan (where the overharvesting has been significantly less severe). Please remember to shop ethically, check the sourcing of any coral articles you may purchase, and remember that lookalikes are easy to come by in the form of dyed stone.
Representations and use in period
Senigallia Madonna and Child
Piero della Francesca
1465
Brera Altarpiece
Piero della Francesca
1473
Portrait of a Lady in Yellow
Alesso Baldovinetti
1465
Portrait of a Young Woman
Domenico Ghirlandaio
1490
Precious coral species can exhibit variations of red, orange, pink, and white in either solid colors or swirled together. A closely-related species also produced black colored corals.
In 77 AD, Pliny the Elder wrote in depth about coral in one of the earliest encyclopedias, Naturalis Historia (Natural History). Pliny describes the most valued coral being the deepest, solid red, and the pieces with more intact branches being more desirable than those with fewer. Considering the fragility of precious coral as a material, keeping a large and branched piece intact would have been a challenge indeed.
Coral occupied an interesting place in medieval taxonomy. On one hand, it was treated similarly to any other mineralogical gem, being cut into cabochons and cameos and beads. However, it was also clearly observed to be alive and growing prior to collection. This combination of traits made it desirable as a strongly powerful amulet that was deeply imbued with the power of growth, life, and vitality. It was popular as a gift to children, both as a protective charm against illness and disease and to help them grow healthy and strong. For similar reasons, it was frequently worn by young women as a blessing of fertility and protection from evil magical sway.
Taking both of these traditions into consideration, it would make my wearing it as a grown man somewhat odd and anachronistic. However, the opportunity to turn an Arts award into a piece of historically-inspired art was too much for me to resist. I'll consider it my magical charm against the evil demons of Forgetting To Bookmark That Really Useful Source.
I figure that will preserve my vitality to a similar extent.