First a question from Job: ‘ Where will wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding?’
Then he continues: ‘ gold and crystal cannot equal it: and you can’t exchange it for jewels or fine gold.’
Then right at the end God speaks:
‘ Look the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to leave evil is understanding.’
Job 28: 12,17,28
This post has two aspects: a fascinating factory and a church. These are both in a seaport city founded by the Vikings in 914 AD , the city is Waterford in southeast Ireland.
Waterford Crystal began here in 1783 and offers factory tours and this is where I could have spent much longer. To be a cutter takes five years and to be a master cutter three more years. The work is as demanding as it is beautiful. The guide asked me which was my favourite piece and I knew that the lead crystal violin was intricate, detailed and very expensive but I also knew that it was probably a vase on a desk. Often the cutters come up with their own creations and this was one of them. Can you see it?
A poster nearby said ‘ we never sell seconds, they are destroyed immediately a fault is found.’ A row of bowls side by side showed these different faults. Here is one fascinating photograph of experienced hands working.
It was time well spent despite being expensive.
Then there was Christ Church Cathedral Waterford:
Why was the Tetragrammation, the title of God in four Hebrew letters, written on the wall behind the altar? The answer was that it was a reminder of Christianity’s roots in Judaism.
There was also a gift from Waterford Crystal in the form of a chandelier but as far as colour goes the stained glass windows were at there best in morning sunshine. It is widely thought that these are A. E. Child’s finest works done in 1930.
Here are the stained glass windows with the caption:
‘ Sorrow may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.’
I was so pleased with the morning light coming through! Then there was the stucco plasterwork ceiling similar to what can be seen in 18th Century palaces and stately homes in Europe.
This cathedral has been described by historian Mark Girouard as the finest 18th Century Ecclesiastical building in Ireland. Built in the Neo- Classical Georgian style, reminiscent of Ancient Greece, a style Roberts was fond of.
A joyful place until you come across the tomb of James Rice. He was Mayor of Waterford several times and his city did well in the years around 1481. He had his own tomb made and wanted to remind people of how brief life was and the transient nature of fame, wealth and power.
This is what he had made for himself which turned out to be a fine example of a cadaver monument. It shows a badly decayed corpse, crawling with worms and with a frog feasting on the stomach. A section of the inscription reads:
‘ I am what you will be; I was what you are now.’
There is always much more to see and experience in both the church and the factory. I leave you with this amazing street scene.
How lovely is she?
Take care,
Sandy 🙂