Prussian Tiers

I really love this tiered wooden necklace! Its chunkiness makes it akin to sculpture. It’s another piece of jewellery that I bought from a thrift store, and like many pieces I’ve found, I wondered why on earth someone would toss it forth into the world. But their loss is my gain.

This lovely shade of blue, with the tiniest hint of warmth to it, I’ve decided is Prussian blue. The nuances of colour – in chemistry, nomenclature, symbolism – are quite fascinating, and the history of this particular hue’s creation, in 1706, is equally so. It is prepared from cyanide salts, but because they are tightly bound to iron, the pigment is non-toxic.

From the beginning of the 18th century, the colour was worn in uniform by the infantry and artillery regiments of the Prussian Army, and therein lies the origin of its name. Prussian blue can also be used in engineering work, and as a medicine! It is used to treat poisoning from heavy metals. Amazing. It was also used as a replacement for Egyptian blue after the loss of knowledge regarding its synthesis after the Roman Era – but that’s a whole other story.

Photo: July 2016