A Jewel Made of Coral stone
I sometimes wonder if enough of us out there feel the true beauty that surrounds us in our everyday lives, like the colors and textures of our food, our clothes, our furniture and so much more. I have a special love for natural materials that I am sure will appear in many of my posts.
One such natural material, that I fell in love with when I first came to live in dubai, was the coral stone. I first encountered it in the old Fahidi District of Dubai that dates back to the 1830s. The area was created using coral and shell stones, in one of the traditional styles used to build homes before the advent of steel and glass.
In the early 20th century, when the wealthy traders of Bastak, Iran first migrated to Dubai via the trade routes of the Creek, they brought their way of life and architectural knowledge with them. The Ahmadiyyah school there, which is a museum now, is the oldest school established in Dubai, where Sheikh Rashed the former ruler of Dubai studied, sponsored by a rich pearl trader who understood the value of education.
In one of the rooms of the Ahmadiyyah, there is a wall that has been uncovered to reveal the original coral stones that were traditionally used as the basic structure of the buildings. Because coral is a living organism, alive with pores, it was an ideal building material that absorbed the heat and tempered it's effect inside the house. However there is a catch, these organic materials had a short life span of 30-50 years, then they would become dry and brittle and start to break and disintegrate, which naturally marked the time for rebuilding yet again.
I love understanding how cultures built using local materials native to their surroundings, and the skill of the craftsmen who understood them so well as to put them to functional use with minimal harm to the environment. What a testament to the Creator, His inventiveness with both material and the ability of the human intellect to harness its potential! It never fails to fill my heart with wonder and awe.
My quest for beauty most recently took me to Design Days Dubai, the leading fair for furniture and design objects in the region. It was there, whilst soaking up the creative atmosphere, that I wandered into a showroom exhibiting projects run by Tashkeel; the contemporary art organisation based in Dubai, that is a wonderful gem in its own right. And lo and behold I see these exquisite lamps made of freely styled thin coral stone slabs. As if that's not beauty enough, I noticed that the lamps are crafted into a flower, more precisely a tulip; one of my favorite stems.
While I was admiring it, a gorgeous woman walked into the showroom, dressed in a modernized version of an Arab dress from the Levant, off-white with softly embroidered details around the collar. Its simplicity and flow sealed its beauty and charm. She wore it elegantly and moved in it so gracefully, adding just the right touch of modernity with a Valentino cross bag and shoes. As it turns out, this was Zuleika Penniman, the creator of the lamps.
Charmed by this ode to my favored coral stone, I decided to commission a piece and waited with joyful anticipation to receive my art piece, tickled by the fact that it also functioned as a lamp!
When it was time for the delivery, it turned out that Zuleika personally accompanied her creation to install it. Now, let me tell you, that was a special experience, particularly, in an age that puts a high value on the “right” experiences and therefore well planned experiences surround and spoil us. It was made all the more beautiful because it was the unintended extra gift of the artist's love and commitment to her art.
Zuleika put the lamp together and spoke as I took notes and snapped photos of her. She has a manner of relating and speaking of her art and the world that is as beautiful as she is. I was transported to a world of prose describing how worthwhile things and concepts can be understood, related to and given their due. We touched upon so many topics, art being one of them, education another, and the shared passion we had for both.
I should have known that there was a secret to the level of attention-to-detail that was so apparent in Zuleika's work. Her real work is in jewelry making and it just happened that she did this project with Tashkeel. Princess Latifa Al Maktoum, the founder of Tashkeel likes to ask artists to work with mediums and on art forms that differ from what they know and work with regularly. I love the creative stretching of one's sense of knowing, it’s just the right amount of challenge and freshness that keeps the zest for creating and growing as an artist well and present. Zuleika’s workmanship showed in the finest details of the lamp; the studs that held it together, the layered base and the long heavy stem.
It reminded me of another long time love of mine, Jay Strongwater's photo frames, boxes and other home accessories that represent old world mastery with the eye and skill of a jeweler, which he is as well. The frames are a piece of art in their own right, with tantalizing details, even at the back of the frames, (or: even the back had tantalizing details) seamless beauty all around.
What a pleasure it was to meet Zuleika and hear her speak about her work and love for natural things and how she collects anything from stone to doors, to slabs and tree stumps. Her wisdom in balancing modernity, as forward and beautiful as it is in its own right, whilst honoring the old and the natural was inspiring.
Zuleika shared with me what she had learned by taking the coral stone to the special craftsmen that she was able to find in Dubai to discover the characteristics of the coral stone. You just have to love and respect that kind of dedicated and meaningful curiosity!
Here is what I learned about my precious coral stone:
Its pattern is the volume and strength. Wow.
It can be cut to the precision of 6 millimeters which is unheard of except in natural materials.
Angles at which it's cut and it's species determine the resulting pattern.
The idea is to do as little as possible and follow the curved lines and with that the results suggest where it comes from.
Subhana Allah really how incredible is each creation and it's place in the world.
ABOUT Design Days
Design Days Dubai is the leading fair in the Middle East and South Asia dedicated to collectible and limited edition furniture and design objects. The fair presents design from leading international designers and galleries alongside up and coming design from across the world.
ABOUT Zuleika Penniman
Zuleika Penniman is a Lebanese-American jewellery designer who has a profound respect for materials and process. Her pieces marry futuristic statements with graceful fragility to evoke an awareness of the past, whilst looking vividly at the future.
ABOUT Tashkeel
Tashkeel was established in 2008 by Lateefa bint Maktoum, as a contemporary art organisation to place artists at its core. Tashkeel supports the UAE's creative community through studio facilities, artists' residencies, international fellowships, a programme of exhibitions, events and professional as well as recreational workshops.
ABOUT Jay Strongwater
Jay Strongwater is a celebrated American designer and craftsman who created his own niche as the jeweler turning his meticulous eye and art on a world beyond a woman’s wrist, neck, and ears. He’s fascinated by the idea of taking everyday objects around us and turning them into jewels for the home.
4 thoughts on “A Jewel Made of Coral stone”
I like how you talked about how the coral stone can be used to design an art piece that can serve both as an eye-catching display as well as being a functional furniture piece at the same time. At the same time, having a piece of art that can serve another purpose is useful and would make for a great conversational piece. If I had the time to commission a special art piece that can be used as a lamp I would do so and choose to pattern it after a sunflower.
Wow, that would be beautiful! If you ever do get the time to create your sunflower lamp, please share a photo for the @bintbattutadiaries Instagram page. I completely agree with you about multipurpose functional design being fabulous. Thank you for your insightful comment 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed it Hala.. It was an educational experience for me too to find out more about the coral stone. Made me like it even more!
I never heard about coral stone. I’m impressed with the information, and its role in the local architecture of Dubai. I really enjoyed your writing. What a treat!