Deadly Nightshade, Belladonna, Necklace

She has been growing here since before anyone thought to name her. She does not mind the naming. She does not mind anything very much. She simply grows, unhurried and certain of herself, putting out her dark bell-shaped flowers and her glossy berries with the same quiet confidence of something that has always known exactly what it is and has never needed anyone's approval to be it. Every part of her is beautiful. Every part of her is dangerous. She sees no contradiction in this.

Belladonna

Carl Linnaeus named her himself, which tells you something about how seriously she was taken. He chose the genus name Atropa after Atropos, the oldest of the Three Fates in Greek mythology, the one who held the shears. While her sister Clotho spun the thread of each human life and Lachesis measured it, it was Atropos alone who decided when to cut it, determining for every soul that had ever existed exactly how and when they would die. Considering that every part of this plant is poisonous, the name Linnaeus gave it is darkly fitting.

The species name belladonna he chose for a different reason entirely. Beautiful woman. It is a reference to the women of Renaissance Italy, and specifically Venice, who dropped the juice of the berries into their eyes to dilate their pupils, which was considered at the time to be deeply seductive and beautiful. The compound responsible, atropine, is still used today in ophthalmology to dilate pupils during eye examinations. You have almost certainly encountered it yourself in a doctor's office, in carefully measured doses, administered by someone who knows exactly what they are doing. The belladonna women of Venice were working without that reassurance and they did it anyway, because beauty has always required a certain kind of courage.

Atropine is also used in modern medicine to regulate heart rate, relax muscle spasms, and treat a range of conditions from Parkinson's disease to motion sickness. A plant that can kill you and heal you depending entirely on how much you use and what you know about what you are doing is a plant that demands respect. Belladonna has always demanded respect. She has always received it.

The Piece

A single twig of Atropa belladonna rendered in sterling silver, deeply oxidized to that rich dark tone that suits her perfectly. Three large lobed leaves spread outward, their surfaces textured and veined, and growing among them are two open bell-shaped flowers, a closed bud still waiting, and one ripe berry, round and gleaming, the kind that looks exactly like something you should not eat. Every element was hand carved from scratch, the flowers with their characteristic drooping bell shape, the berry with its small star-shaped calyx still attached, all of it suspended inside an open teardrop frame.

At the top a deep purple star sapphire is set in a granulated bezel, rose cut so its flat facets catch and hold the light rather than releasing it all at once. Star sapphires typically show their star only in cabochon form, but this one was cut differently, and what you get instead is something quieter and more mysterious, a deep shifting purple that moves through grey and back again depending on where you stand and how the light finds it. The star is there, hidden inside the stone. It simply keeps it to itself.

The pendant hangs on an 18 inch sterling silver rope chain.

The Craftsmanship

• Pendant: approximately 3 inches tall by 1.25 inches wide
• Stone: rose cut star sapphire with inclusions, crown bezel setting
• Material: sterling silver throughout, oxidized
• Chain: 18 inch sterling silver rope chain
• Edition: one of a kind

One of a Kind

There is only one of this necklace in the world. This twig, this berry, this particular stone with its shifting clouds of light: they exist once. When Belladonna finds her person she will never be made again exactly like this.

A Note from Tamara

I have always been drawn to plants that carry a complicated reputation, the ones that heal and harm in equal measure depending on who is holding them and how much they know. Belladonna feels like a plant that has been misunderstood for a very long time and also a plant that is perfectly fine with that, that has never needed to be understood to go on doing exactly what it has always done. I gave her the darkest stone I could find that still had that deep purple beauty in it, because she deserved a stone that could hold both things at once. I hope whoever wears her feels a little of that same quiet certainty. You can be beautiful and complicated and not require anyone's permission to be either.

Shipping

Your Belladonna is finished, packaged safely, and will be on her way to you within 3 to 5 business days.