I was chuffed to come upon this lowly dandelion, made lofty by Fabergé, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts when I visited on 1 December.
And it’s made with nutritious asbestos!
I had to look up nephrite, which is a magnesium-rich amphibole, composed of the minerals tremolite or actinolite. It’s sometimes called jade, but so is jadeite, a kind of aluminum-rich pyroxene, which is rarer. Nephrite’s colour is usually grey or green, but it can also be yellow, brown, or white, and the white or cream versions are called mutton fat jade, which is a traditional Chinese favourite. (More at the International Gem Society.)
The word nephrite comes from the Greek nephrós, for kidney, because the mineral was thought to aid in healing kidney disorders. And interestingly, dandelion (Taraxacum spp) leaves can be used to help kidney function; the plant is also used as a diuretic, for liver problems and high blood pressure, as a mild appetite stimulant, and to improve digestion (per Penn State Hershey Medical Center).
It was a happy surprise to find this dandelion among the Imperial Easter eggs created for the Russian czar and czarina, but it doesn’t take a Fabergé to make a dandelion beautiful in my eyes.
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I have to say they did a bang-up job of recreating all those tiny filaments with the asbestos fiber. But yikes… I wouldn’t want to handle that stuff. I also agree with you – I think Dandelions are just as beautiful (if not more so) than even the Fabergé version.
Interesting story – and the object itself is worth a look. Thank you 😊
It seems like such an odd use for the materials involved. It is interesting and impressive, but I can think of better uses for what went into it.
Maybe it was commissioned? There were other flowers in the same exhibit.
Regardless, that one is fascinating not only because of the materials, but also because of the subject matter. I mean, who would think to reproduce a dandelion flower? That is totally rad!