Homage to Earth: Hidden Treasures by Teresa Seabra
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During one of her last visits to India, Teresa Seabra met an old man who had been collecting wonderful dendritic agates since his childhood. He then confided her with great sadness, that none of his successors cared about his treasure. She so decided to take some of them, working with these mysterious stones by combining them with others, with tiny Basra pearls and rough little diamonds writes Ilaria Ruggiero.
Necklace: Hidden Treasures I, 2016
Oxidized silver, dendritic agates and crystal rock
Necklace: Hidden Treasures II, 2016
Gold, dendritic agates and amber
Agate is the name given to numerous varieties of banded Chalcedony, a mineral of the Quartz family. Dendritic Agate, sometimes called Tree Agate, is not banded, and therefore not strictly an Agate in scientific terms but is included in the Agate family. It gets its name from a Greek word meaning tree-like. These Agates are usually colourless, white, or grey, and have tree- or fern-like inclusions of iron or manganese, called dendrites. Less common are green Tree Agates with white dendrites.
Dendritic Agate is known as the Stone of Plenitude. It brings abundance and fullness to all areas of life, from business to agricultural endeavours. It was associated with the ancient Greek dryads, woodland and tree spirits, and was buried in the fields at the time of sowing to insure a good harvest.
Brooch: Hidden Treasures III, 2016
Silver, dendritic agates, bassora pearls and stainless steel
Brooch: Hidden Treasures IV, 2016
Oxidized silver, dendritic agates, raw black diamonds and stainless steel
The series of works that came out from Teresa’s hands are a mixture of very balanced and refined pieces, both necklaces and brooches, which bring and communicate all the symbolic power of the mineral elements.
For naturalness and brilliance, the agate includes in itself an almost narrative, dreamlike and magical decorative graphic drawing, which Teresa alternates with the skilful use of rough surfaces, by mixing the abstraction of stones and quartzes.For naturalness and brilliance, the agate includes in itself an almost narrative, dreamlike and magical decorative graphic drawing, which Teresa alternates with the skilful use of rough surfaces, by mixing the abstraction of stones and quartzes.
Brooch: Hidden Treasures X, 2017
Silver, gold, native copper, ammonite, coral cameo and dendritic agate
Brooch: Hidden Treasures IX, 2017
Oxidized silver, coral, agate, dendritic agate, mica and ammonite
They are based on a perfect synergy of shapes and colours, produced by the combination of different stones, neutral elements, precious and non-precious materials: a formal challenge, but not only that. The always-natural tones of colour refer to the earth, the qualities and fertility of life in its primordial origin and constitution.
Her creations speak about both, the original primitivism of man's relationship with the nature, and the spiritual connection of man with the divine.
Brooch: Hidden Treasures XI, 2017
Oxidized silver, lava cameo, pink quartz, mica and quartz with inclusions
Brooch: Hidden Treasures XII, 2017
Silver, lava cameos, rubies, ammonites and dendritic agates
Teresa creates an ode and homage to mother earth, not at all sweetened, always moderated, sober, elegant.
The strong consistency of the materials used refers in particular to femininity, to the unique power of the creation, to the ancient rituality linked to the cult of the earth and its sacredness, a place from which everything comes to which everything returns.
Brooch: Hidden Treasures XV, 2017
Oxidized silver, ammonite, native copper, dendritic agates and crystal rock
Brooch: Hidden Treasures XIV, 2017
Silver, native copper, silver cameo, aquamarines and dendritic agates
Pendant: Hidden Treasures XVII, 2017
Oxidized silver, native copper, silver cameos, lava cameos, tourmalines, trilobites, dendritic agate and minerals
Brooch: Hidden Treasures XVI, 2017
Oxidized silver, silver cameo, ammonite, native copper and dendritic agates
About the Contributing Writer
Ilaria Ruggiero is a cultural manager and curator working in the field of contemporary art. She is the founder of Adornment - Curating Contemporary Art Jewelry, a curatorial integrated project dedicated to contemporary art jewelry. It aims to develop the knowledge and consciousness of contemporary jewelry as artistic discipline and as ground search for technique, aesthetics, and philosophy.
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