LOVE AND ST. VALENTINE

LOVE ON A BED OF ROSES

Embroidery by my grandmother, dimensions 75×53 cm

Sometimes it happens that, as if a greeting from times past, something emerges, what we had no notion about. Maybe you hear something mentioned in passing. Or, as in this case I want to mention, some concrete thing comes to your hands, you never saw or heard about.

During a visit by my relatives on the occasion of my jubilee, my godmother was impressed by my having an embroidery made by her mother –  my grandmother, hanging framed on the wall of my kitchen. Such embroideries were a common sight in the kitchens in the past. Embroidered on white linen there were scenes of everyday life, often accompanied by proverbs or other interesting inscriptions.

Such embroidery was then framed by a ready made machine embroidered ribbon of matching color.  This way sort of a picture was created. The size of these pictures did not vary much as they were originally designed to be decorating the wall just above a water chest. The water chest was a piece of kitchen furniture, where two buckets of water brought from well were placed.

When I visited my godmother afterwards, she presented me with two more such embroidered pictures by my grandmother. One of them was red and when I opened it I was stunned by what I saw. It was pure love being emitted out of the white linen. Amorous couple hugging and kissing each other surrounded by roses. Since ancient times, red has been the color of love. Loving couple surrounded by red roses.

Roses grow beautifully and they are forming a circle around the couple. The cute two creatures even are winged. Her wings are like wings of a butterfly – I find this amazing. What a great idea!  His wings are more to the regular side – feather wings. I find so much symbolism in this embroidery. And I even consider this to be like a message of love from my grandmother across decades. She is gone for four decades and I never knew that this wonderful picture existed.

I think that now, on the ocassion of St. Valentine´s day, this is exactly the proper time for this lovely picture to be presented here. I hope that you will enjoy viewing it at least this way – on the internet.

Then comes the one responsible for falling in love, little Cupid, whom I discovered by chance during my Ginza visit:

Bronze sculpture representing Cupid – Ginza, Tokyo
Bronze sculpture representing Cupid – Ginza , Tokyo

This contemporary Cupid is a proof that he still exists. Yes, he is constantly here, waiting for his “victims” to pierce their hearts with his heart shaped arrow.

And then a greeting of love dating back to the 4th century AD, Cupid himself in love with Psyche –  marble sculpture as I saw it in Ostia Antica.

4th century AD Cupid and Psyche excavated in Ostia Antica

Now it´s time to celebrate St. Valentine´s day. Those wishing to get to know a bit more about Ginza or Ostia Antica, can do so easily here on my website. Just fill in the SEARCH frame above and you are there as if possessed with supernatural powers you are right there    🙂