Zeus x27 | The Blue Light

Zeus x27 | The Blue Light. A Restricted finish for the Märchen Collection, after the Brothers Grimm tale "Das blaue Licht".

THE STORY A discharged soldier is lowered into a well to fetch a small blue lantern. When he lights his pipe on its flame, a little man appears who grants him what he needs. The whole tale fits on one small weapon: the pipe, its smoke, the castle on the horizon and the well where it all begins.

THE DESIGN Gold-wire cloisonne enamel on a medium indigo night sky with gold stars. The long upper body carries the walnut pipe, with a trail of gold dots that curls toward the front past a parchment castle skyline. The grip is the stone well, with the rope and the small lantern holding the blue flame at the bottom. A bank of parchment clouds sits under the front. Top and bottom surfaces stay indigo with gold edge lines, so the piece reads cleanly in first person.