Since jewels were born as lucky objects, with magical as well as decorative powers, Lydia Courteille decided to create a collection inspired by the supernatural universe. This time the Parisian designer-artist has chosen shamanic mysticism as her guiding thread. And, in particular, to the rites and myths of the Huichol-Kawitu community, indigenous people of Mexico and the United States, who live in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range and in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. On the other hand, artists have a special connection with the world of fantasy that seems spiritual.
Bright colors, enamels, symbols: Lydia Courteille’s jewelery series takes a journey through the atmospheres of the Mexican desert, with jewels full of symbolic meanings: it represents the meeting between sun and moon to chase away the darkness caused by eclipses. As in the Le Visage de l’eclipse (The Face of the Eclipse) bracelet inspired by shamanic singing. The bracelet testifies to the skill of the enamellers, with a Plique-à-jour colored glass effect. The bracelet is made of 18k gold, diamonds, yellow and orange sapphires, turquoises and enamel.
Another exceptional piece is the Frére-Ainé-Kauymari (Big Brother-Kauymari) necklace, a male god who took the form of a deer. The myths of that population pass through five major ritual sites, running during the day from East to West and throughout the year, from North to South, between the summer solstice and the winter solstice after reaching the zenith. The Huichol shaman, who sings for whole nights during the main seasonal rites, is transformed into a necklace with 18k gold pendant, black and white diamonds, tsavorites, green garnets, rubellite, stalactite. Alongside the pendant, the necklace features emeralds, diamonds, carnelian, green and blue pearls as well as stalactites.
In Lydia Courteille’s shamanic journey there is also the ring Des Chamanes en Route (Shamans on the move). The finish line is Haramaratsia, for the Huichol the sacred place of Our Mother Ocean where the white rock of San Blas emerges. The ring evokes rites seasoned with the use of peyote, a hallucinogenic mushroom that offers lysergic experiences. Or the Vocabulaire de Huichol necklace, which brings together a series of symbols such as the Rock personified as the ancestors who left the sea transformed one after the other, three snakes united together that fall from above and represent the rain Or the earrings inspired by the hearth where Our Grandfather Fire rests, source of knowledge and inspiration of all shamans.
The Collier Notre-Mère-Jeune-Aigle (Our-Mother-Young-Eagle) is inspired by the painting The Path of the Souls of the Dead by Guadalupe Gonzales Rios, 1974. According to the mythology of the indigenous people, the death of the Huichol would be dominated by Our Mother Eagle, who guides the souls of the dead to their final resting place to neutralize them, to the shore of the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, shamans took the form of eagles, jaguars, snakes and other beings of which they carried elements and symbols. Feathers are one of the most worn ornaments. Eagle feathers personify the creator of the ancestors, regeneration and rebirth of the world.
The Tortue et la sécheresse (The Tortoise and the drought) ring is inspired by the birth of fire, the origin of the moon, sun or stars, and the dry season. While the Abeilles Huichol (Huichol Bees) ring refers to the painting The Bees Find Their Way by Yauxali, 1981. The bees find the hive in the figurative interpretation of ethnic taste. The collection does not lack a jewel dedicated to one of the pillars of culture, but above all of the survival of the population: corn. The Notre-Mère-Mais (Our-Mother-Mais) earrings. They are inspired by José Benitez Sanches’ painting The Transformations of Our Mother-Maize, 1985.
