One of the things I love most about working with antique seals is that they never arrive without a story attached. Sometimes it’s obvious, a declaration of love, a crest, a phrase. Other times it takes a moment for the meaning to reveal itself. Last week a custom commission flew the nest and found its way to my client R who has graciously allowed me to share her story.
The piece itself depicts The Crow and the Pitcher, an old Aesop’s fable about a thirsty crow who finds a pitcher with water at the bottom. Unable to reach it, the crow patiently drops pebbles into the vessel until the water rises high enough to drink. It’s a simple story, but like most good fables it says something deeper about intelligence, patience and the power of persistence. And that’s exactly why it resonated with R who commissioned it.
When I asked R what drew her to this particular seal, her answer made me smile. First, she told me that her partner calls her “Crow” a nickname born from her lifelong love of shiny things (clearly we Magpies and Crows were destined to meet). But the symbolism runs deeper than that.
R works as an attorney, and she sees the crow as a perfect reflection of the values she holds dear in her work and in her life. Not brute force, not bluster, but patience, intelligence and the kind of creative thinking that solves problems others might walk away from.
As she put it, the lesson of the fable is that crafty, thoughtful solutions are often the right ones. And perhaps most importantly, she believes the combination of creativity and intelligence is a powerful force one she actively tries to embody both personally and professionally.
The final piece carries that entire story within it. A small crow beside a pitcher, pebble poised in its beak, frozen in the quiet moment before their victory. A reminder that progress doesn’t always come from pushing harder sometimes it comes from thinking differently. R now has a talisman that reflects who she is at her very being, that reflects her values, her patience, her intelligence and her love of shiny things!
Flown the nest this month..
Of course, R’s crow is just one story among many.
Mischief makers honour your story with a talisman that speaks to you…
The symbols we choose to carry often reveal something about the stories we’re living. For R, it was the crow and pitcher, a small scene from an ancient fable that perfectly captures how she moves through the world. The right symbol has a curious way of finding you at the right moment. And when it does, it becomes something you carry forward, a marker of where you’ve been, what you value, and the quiet strengths you want to remember.
Our antique seals are rich with meaning and can be transformed into deeply personal, custom talismans that can become part of your story. Turn them into Intaglio pendants that say “I know who I am.” Custom love tokens that say “I am loved”. Signet rings that say “I am proud of who I am”.
With love and shiny things, always
Emma and the Bauble Magpie Team
