Thanks to the Akhal-Teke

The declaration of frustration in my last post worked. Eventually, in the one-step-forward-and-two-back method, that last confrontation between hero and heroine took form and evolved into reconciliation. It took a few unusual props to get them there.

                                   The first was this magnificent Akhal-Teke horse.

The coat on this breed of horse has a bloom. As on this fine fellow, it shines so much it looks like metal. These horses originate from the deserts of Turkmenistan. Their coats act as camouflage in the shimmering desert heat. Prized for their beauty as well as their strength and skill, they are known as the Heavenly Horses.

                  The second prop was a ruby pendant, made in the Ottoman style.

And the final detail, to please other senses, was the song of the nightingales.

http://youtu.be/EPQz1IShfxQ

                  

Accessories for the plot: Jewellery

My heroine is in Constantinople in the year 1811. Jewellery was an age old art in the Ottoman Empire. Between her own selection and the traditional pieces the hero gives her, Olivia has many fine jewels by the end of the book.

A silver filigree and carnelian pendant

a pair of gold and diamond earrings [Top Kapi Museum ]

a gold and diamond bracelet with an emerald [Topkapi Museum]

A hand mirror

Güherse jewellery

The term güherse refers to decoration consisting of tiny metal beads welded onto articles made of silver and gold. Güherse is a very ancient ornamental technique for metalwork, probably discovered because of the natural tendency for the noble metals to form drops when cooling from the fluid state. Mesopotamia, a region which was cradle to civilisation in many different respects, is also where güherse work was first discovered. It was in the hands of Turkish jewellers, however, that it was taken to its final stage of refinement. During the Ottoman period jewellers became so expert that today it is virtually impossible to replicate their work.

Güherse involves overcoming two major problems; the first to produce equal sized drops, and the second to weld these to the metal surface of the object. The Ottomans mastered this technique to perfection, producing beautiful works of art. [From M Zeki Kusoglu ]