TIDBITS 05/02/10

Whistle

Should some of you decide--in a moment of utter folly--to look into the history or origin of whistles ... you will soon discover that Sisyphus had an easy task compared to the one you are about to undertake. I quote the words of that most famous American philosopher--whose name escapes me at the moment--who said in reference to the engagement of seemingly insurmountable tasks: "Fuggedaboudit".

An so--in heeding the advice of those wiser than I--I shall segue ... as is often my wont ... to circa 1600 ... to Goa ... Portugal ... a mecca as it turns out ... for the production of Indo-Portuguese jewelry of the highest standards. Who woulda thunk it ... I ask you?

Portuguese goldsmiths who worked and lived in Goa in the early 17th century catered to an export market geared to the giving of gifts to European Monarchs in order to curry favoritism or pledge allegiance to their majesties. They combined Indian techniques with western parameters and fused gold with rock crystal and gems and produced the most charming of trinkets.

Among the recipients of these gifts were King George III and Queen Charlotte. This of course means nothing except as an illustrative example of the importance of this Portuguese export market.

And so I have a whistle to show you for those who do not know how to whistle on their own. I tend to think whistling is a lost art ... but for those of you who want to re-learn this fine craft ... I suggest you watch To Have And To Have Not and listen for that moment when Lauren Bacall gives Humphrey Bogart a lesson by saying to him: "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow." Anyway ... I have this whistle. Rather magnificent looking ... hanging on a triple chain ... made of gold with rock crystal ... set with cabochon rubies and sapphires. Rare documentary evidence would indicate that in was part of the cargo on board a Portuguese ship bound for Lisbon around March 1628.

The fashion for Indian jewelry became firmly entrenched in the world of royal fashion when Queen Victoria wore pieces not only because she had a penchant for the style ... but also for political reasons. It was after she gave a collection of Indian jewelry to her daughter-in-law--Princess Alexandra--that enameled Indian jewelry became a highly fashionable and desirable commodity.

All this information may all seem a little dry to many of you ... what with facts and dates and such ... to you I suggest in order to combat this dryness you go straight to the nearest bar ... order a Guinness Stout ... and proceed to "wet your whistle".

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I direct you to my home page at

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where you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says Current Tidbits ... and you will see represented on our pages a magnificent gold whistle of Indo-Portuguese origins. And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark All issues of Tidbits are copyrighted and available from our home page. All rights reserved.

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Benjamin Mark
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