#emerald glass

[lexlee20]

a note on the Chinese dragon breed names that were introduced in the last few books of the _Temeraire_ series—

way back when Naomi Novik hosted the original Temeraire wiki on her own website (around book 5 iirc), some other users and I were speculatively reverse-engineering “Scarlet Flower” and ”Emerald Glass”, given the likely constraint that the naming pattern should demand a single ideograph for each of those. Those phrases could be regarded as translations provided to Laurence by someone who frex might not know the English names of every kind of local red flower; we ended up deciding on peony: 芍, sháo.

“Emerald Glass” was a lot tougher bc of the single-character constraint, so it had to be something inherently green that wouldn’t require an added descriptor. “Jade” was already taken; even a novice translator would be clear on the value difference between jade and glass; and most glass isn’t intense emerald green anyway. We ended up going metaphorical by referring to the serene, smooth green surface of a formal water garden. Pond/fishpool: 沼, zhǎo.

(We absolutely did not want to go in the direction that Laurence had misheard an ambiguously enunciated “emerald grass”.)

By the time those names appeared in print, the wiki and discussion pages were gone from her site and the participants dispersed, but I was ever so pleased to see them canonized yay.

[thephantomofanastasia]

This fanart is so creative. I love the stained glass window approach!

“'Look To The Western Sky'

For this piece, I explored something new by creating everything in a stained glass style.

I framed it with my storytelling border to guide you through the journey of Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Boq and the Lion. For those familiar with The Wizard of Oz, you might notice a few hints about these characters.

This piece took 20 consecutive hours.”

Art credit to Braeden C. (braedens.creations) on IG. Go check out their page and artwork

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Emerald Spectacles from India, c. 1620-1660 CE: the lenses of these spectacles were cut from a single emerald, and the original, uncut stone weighed more than 300 carats

These eyeglasses are also known by the name Astaneh-e ferdaws, meaning "Gate of Paradise," based on the symbolic associations between the color green and the concept of spiritual salvation or "paradise." Those associations, which are rooted in Islamic tradition, were especially common in Mughal India.

The lenses were crafted from two thin slices of the same emerald. Together, the lenses have a combined weight of about 27 carats, but given the precision, size, and shape of each lens, experts believe that the original emerald likely weighed in excess of 300 carats (more than sixty grams) before it was cleaved down in order to produce the lenses.

The emerald was found at a mine in Muzo, Colombia, and it was then transported across the Atlantic by Spanish or Portuguese merchants.

Each lens is encircled by rose-cut diamonds, which run along an ornate frame made of gold and silver. This diamond-studded frame was installed during the late 1800s, when modern stylistic elements were incorporated into the original pince-nez design.

The "Gate of Paradise" spectacles are often accompanied by a second pair of eyeglasses that were created during the same period, and they were almost certainly commissioned by the same person; these other spectacles are known by the name Halqeh-e nur, meaning "Halo of Light," and they feature lenses that were cleaved from a single diamond.

It's estimated that the original, uncut diamond weighed about 200-300 carats, which would make it one of the largest uncut diamonds ever discovered.

The lenses are so clear and so flat that they sometimes seem almost invisible.

Both sets of spectacles date back to the mid-1600s, and it's believed that they were commissioned by a Mughal emperor or prince. The identity of that person is still a bit of a mystery, but it has been widely speculated that the patron was Shah Jahan -- the Mughal ruler who famously commissioned the Taj Mahal after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan ruled as the Mughal emperor from about 1628 to 1658.

The emerald and diamond lenses may have served some symbolic, sentimental, or cultural purpose, or they may have been chosen simply because they're pretty and extravagant. Their original purpose and significance remains unclear, but there is evidence to suggest that the spectacles were actually designed to be worn by someone.

Mystical properties have long been attributed to these spectacles; it's believed that they can promote healing, ward off evil, impart wisdom, and/or bring the wearer closer to enlightenment. Those beliefs mostly stem from Indic and Islamic traditions that associate each of the gemstones with specific spiritual qualities. Emeralds are associated with spiritual salvation, healing, cleansing, and eternal life, while diamonds are associated with enlightenment, wisdom, celestial light, and mysticism.

The "Gate of Paradise" and the "Halo of Light" spectacles were both kept in the collections of a wealthy Indian family until 1980, when they were sold to private collectors, and they were then put up for auction once again in 2021. They were most recently valued at about $2 million to $3.4 million per pair.

Sources & More Info:

Sotheby's: Mughal Spectacles

Architectural Digest of India: At Sotheby's auction, Mughal-era eyeglasses made of diamond and emerald create a stir

Only Natural Diamonds: Auspicious Sight & the Halqeh-e Nur Spectacles

The Royal Society Publishing: Cleaving the Halqeh-Ye Nur Diamonds

Gemological Institution of America: Two Antique Mughal Spectacles with Gemstone Lenses

Manuscript: From Satan's Crown to the Holy Grail: emeralds in myth, magic, and history

CNN: The $3.5 million Spectacles Said to Ward off Evil

BBC: Rare Mughal Era Spectacles to be Auctioned by Sotheby's

[0pooleart]

All hail our TRUE lord and savior

[snototter]

An emerald glassfrog (Espadarana prosoblepon) in Imbabura, Ecuador

by Andreas Kay

[quartzteph]

i don’t draw very often but the sonic movie brainrot commanded it so uh. here’s tgs hyde as chaos emerald robotnik

[starlittragedies]

saw this post about regulus wearing glasses and I LOVE IT SO MUCH

cause imagine regulus who’s contacts had been ruined by barty (he was messing around as he does and accidentally knocked down regulus’ side table making his contacts fall on the floor, leaving them unusable) so he HAS to wear his glasses so he could see cause it would take at least a day for his new contacts to come in.

but being his stubborn and vain self he doesn’t want to because for one, he thinks it makes him look stupid and two, it doesn’t really match him or his face shape (it does he just doesn’t want to admit it) so he settled for squinting his eyes at any given moment just so he would not have to wear his godforsaken glasses. though his squinting doesn’t do that much for him considering the number of times he seemed to bump into things, people, and walls.

by the time they had reached the great hall his friends had enough. pandora accio-ed regulus’ glasses and handed it to dorcas who had put it on its owner with a strong sticking charm while barty and evan held him in place.

safe to say that regulus has not bumped into anything or anyone after that and the glasses stayed on until his contacts came. he also got a few compliments for it.

not to mention a similarly bespectacled boy from the gryffindor table looking at him with heart eyes, which had a lovestruck shine to them (double than they usually are), thinking about how cute his crush is and how if they had had a child the child would have blurry eyesight just like his fathers.

[ninoochat]

[blondebrainpowered]

Pair of Byzantine Bracelets; Gold, silver, pearl, amethyst, sapphire, glass, quartz, emerald plasma, 500-700 A.D., Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Emerald plasma usually refers to green chalcedony or jasper.

[rexshadaoart]

"If only I had a brain..."

Before April Fools ends, might as well introduce the classic fool now. 

Meet my interpretation of Scarecrow. Hailing from Munchkin Country and being made of straw, the Scarecrow is one of the easier characters to design and draw. 

His clothes have to be based on Munchkin clothes, and he's a rubber hose character, like the ones of the Flesicher cartoons. As such, he has very different approach compared to the human characters like Dorothy, Ozma, and the witches. As such, Scarecrow has classic Mickey Mouse gloves, complete with four digits on each hand, I also took inspirations from @yellowbrickramble's Scarecrow in that he has ropes for limbs to justify his loose body. Of course, I took a very different approach to Scarecrow's appearance overall.

He's supposed to be both a farmer and intellectual in the Oz series. Many artists tend to emphasize on the farmer look, even going as far as giving him unkempt straw hair and sometimes a farm doll look. But I really wanted to make him look intelligent once he gets his brain and thus gave him OzO glasses stitched on his face so that he always looks like a nerd (and proud of it). And of course, he needs a stitched crown and a brain that a lot of needles on it (though in hindsight, they look like nails after drawing them). I also took the time to give him very baggy pants so that neither straw nor money will fall out of him (and call him Uncle Pennybags). His color scheme is predominantly blue, but washed out (as he's been in the sun for too long), and I gave him an emerald vest so that he can look more kingly during his time as ruler of Oz.

Some characters I took inspiration for the look include the Stitchpunks from 9, C-3PO, and the many versions of Scarecrow from films, books, and animation.

[leeshabeth90]

Alice Kingsleigh as the white knight and Dorothy Gale as the mistress of the east.

[ordinary-beautiful]

Jade

[colorsoutofearth]

Emerald glass frog (Centrolene prosoblepon) sitting in flower folds of ginger (Zingiber), Costa Rica

Photo by Guy Edwardes

[rubyuniversegems]

ABCDEFG Gems

Ruby

Sapphire

Emerald

Turquoise

Amethyst

Obsidian

Diamond

Variscite

Ivory

Jade

Feldspar

Jasper

Gold

Opal

Axinite

Pyrite

Coral

Topaz

Benitoite

Glass

Garnet

Aquamarine

Iolite

Dioptase

Fluorite

Pearl

Hematite

Quartz

Malachite

Peridot

Lapis Lazuli

Kornerupine

Chrysoberyl

Ammolite

Poo

[fanartbyherd]

Fan art for the wizard of oz I did on top of an assignment.

It’s not finished, but I’m done with the sketchbook it is in, meaning that it’s unlikely to ever be finished.

[oheysunshine]