Thursday 6 August 2009

Medallions...

Get’s a bad rap. Just the word medallion makes you think about hairy 1970:s chest with large gleaming chunky gold coins depicting some iconic figure. Iconic as in The Madonna not iconic like Madonna.

But I have been thinking lately; I think it’s because I am reading the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts where the leading character (the author himself) wears a gold medallion around his neck with the Headman of the Bombay mafias name on it, so that if he ever ends up in trouble he can show it and people will leave him alone.

This is the power of a medallion, even a normal one without the head mafia guys name on it, there are probably not so many of those pendants; and I personally find it hard to see that I would be in need of that kind of protection.
But it does not take away the fact that the purpose of a medallion is to protect its wearer from something or someone or to commemorate something memorable. I kind of like that. Sometimes we everyone need a little bit of extra protection. I think this will have to be worked in together with my ideas for jewellery for super heros.

I have a necklace that was given to me by my little sister J on my wedding day. On the day I sew the pendant into my handbag, but I wear it often now. It’s one of my most treasured possessions as I got it from her and the meaning it has for us due to its original owner. It’s a large round gold coloured pendant. Almost like a medallion. It feels like it’s got extra power of protection. I think it might be the weight. The weight makes it feel important.

So I expect that I will be trying to make some medalliony kind of pendants. But not make them old school medallions. I will need some new symbols for protection.

Anyone have any suggestions???

4 comments:

  1. I love medallions! It's my favourite kind of jewellery to wear, just beacuse of the different meanings you can out in to them. If you're thinking about the superheroes, you can have signs for powerfull femeninity, strong mind, soulfullness, strenght, sign to avoid the evil eye, peace.. I could go on all day. Miss you!

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  2. Hmm, maybe some sort of shield, or rope, or umbrella-ella-ella. Or a feather to represent guardian angels.

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  3. I like when you can open it, and you can store a word, picture, or something else in your medallion. I like function more than the look...

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  4. I love medallions, it's my favourites just because you can do everything with them. And different types of medallions means different things, and if you are wearing booring clothes a medallion can lift the clothes and your whole personality to something extrordinary. So, more medallions. With the lovely stones you have!!!

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