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The Driving Force of the Invisible Breeze

November 18th, 2007

Daniel Pontius



Mohair I love, but it is somewhat misspent on these chairs. The carving and the Ram’s head already gives interest which goes a long way. The heavy color and texture of the fabric really isn’t needed. A fabric in a lighter color or just in weight would give this chair a new presence. Encyclopedia Mythica tells us that the Ram is the symbol of the Egyptian god, Amun meaning the hidden one as a driving force of the invisible breeze. The original god of wind and ruler of the air; he is shown as a ram, as a man with a ram’s head or with a beard and a feathered crown. The temples dedicated to him are situated near modern day Luxor which was the inspiration, I suppose, for the Luxor Hotel.

The Egyptians seem to be have fond of the Ram as there are also several ram-gods. Cherti, the Ferryman of the Dead whose name means the lower one who had a head of a ram and a body of a man. Also, Chnum the Ram-God who made the Nile fertile.

Then there is the Greek Pelias who sent Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and when Jason returned with it, he wouldn’t give up his throne, so Medea told Pelias’ daughters that she could make an old ram into a young ram. She cut up an old ram and threw them into a cauldron boiled them up and out jumped a young ram. The daughters then went into their father’s room cut him up in tiny pieces and took the pieces to Medea for boiling, which resulted in a smelly stew and that was the end of that. As my Greek Mythology Professor used to say, “Are they depraved because they are deprived or are they deprived because they are depraved?” See Encyclopedia Mythica for further details.

If for whatever reason, one wouldn’t want to reupholster these chairs, (just do it, for God sakes, they are ugly) I would at the least replace the white gimp with something that would diminish the transition from wood to fabric as the white overpowers the carving detail. Samuel & Sons for passementerie. -Center 44, NYC.
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