It is argued whether or not Orpheus actually lived and wrote the hymns that have survived time or if he was just a man of myth and the hymns were written by various people under his name. Either way, both his myth and his beautiful hymns have survived the passage of ancient time and are still used in sacred devotion. 

In myth, he lived as a poet and musician, the lyre being his instrument of choice. Married to Eurydice, who befell tragedy by snakebite, he was able to entrance even the shades of the dead and Persephone with his music when he was granted passage to the Underworld to save her. Famously however, he lost her again when he turned back to look upon her before they both had exited the final steps of the Underworld and she was forever lost to him. This tale, filled with both grief at the loss of a loved one and a kind of intense romance, is captured in the shape of the claws from the bat’s wing, which are used when bats climb and launch into flight and slightly mimic the shape of a lyre. 

These nesting bands were created expressly for the smaller rings in this collection but can be worn alone as ‘wedding/devotion/celebratory bands’ or bands that can nest with other nesting bands or rings in our line. 

Life cast bat bones and claws were manipulated to create this delicate nesting band. Cast in sterling silver silver, each piece is oxidized to achieve our signature shade of stormy gray and the hand finished to reveal the silver highlight beneath.

Bats and their cast wing and leg bones have long been a component I’ve used in my visual library as a way of creating a personal visual language. As nocturnal creatures, I feel a kinship with their natural predilection for the night time hours, but I’m also interested in how they use sonar to ‘see’, how as a metaphor bats as liminal creatures also remind us to look closer with our other senses, a way of ‘seeing the unseen.’ It’s my hope and intention that pairing them with other chthonic imagery and myth further adds to the visual meaning I’m aiming for, creating a collage of personal ideas while also tethering these physical jeweled objects to the spirit of the bat ( and other natural objects in the case of other jewels in my collection ) and to the spirit of the myths I’m invoking.

Details:

-Solid sterling silver  

- Second to last photo shows Miguel wearing this ring on his ring finger, with the Orpheus II nesting band on his middle finger found here

- Last image shows Jess wearing this ring nested with the Psychopomp ring and other  jewels from the Katabasis. Chapter I collection, found here. 

***IMPORTANT***

This jewel is handmade to order, just for you, with care and focus. Please allow approximately 4 weeks for creation before shipping.                   

Visit the Policy Page to make an educated and informed purchase HERE.

If you have further questions, we are always here to serve you in a kind and timely manner: via bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com