Ivory Handbell
(made by [company] Nerold)
circa 1920
More than a small chime
issues from this bell when it is given a shake: from those delicate legs
of the horse and the thrashing leaves of the plants, and from the rider's
arched, strained back, comes a call of the jungle. The wildlife pours itself
into the restricted framework. The horse's tail and ears stand erect with
obedience and its dainty hooves prod the ground, cautiously. Human, beast and
forest become one - how many legs does
the horse have?
The shape is
beautiful. It seems so fragile, almost too fragile, that Peche must not have
intended it for daily use. But consider its stencil-carved body like a
half-formed bubble: one that was preciously blown bigger and bigger breath by
breath, and then magically frozen the moment before it burst. This handbell was
at least intended for a lifetime of admiration. The apparent weightiness of its
finial bearing down on its bubble-skirt is a work of rare craftsmanship; any
moment it seems that it could fall through the canopy like an unwelcomed
metiorite, destructing in its course the sound of both bell and jungle forever. This is a work of art that fools the mind, making it a trompe
l'œil in its own right.
So, is this a call
from Imperial India? Or has Mowgli simply grown up?
