Literary Seascape Pendant: The Song of Eärendil (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Literary Seascape Pendant: The Song of Eärendil (J.R.R. Tolkien)Erendil was a marinerthat tarried in Arvernien; he built a boat of timber felledin Nimbrethil to journey in J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring About This ListingThis listing is for a hand painted clay pendant featuring an intricate gouache seascape inspired by the "Song of Erendil" Bilbo composes in Rivendell. The pendants are finished with two coats of UV resistant gloss varnish on the front, and left unvarnished on the back so as to

Eärendil was a mariner
that tarried in Arvernien;
he built a boat of timber felled
in Nimbrethil to journey in...

                —J.R.R. Tolkien,
         The Fellowship of the Ring

About This Listing
This listing is for a hand-painted clay pendant featuring an intricate gouache seascape inspired by the "Song of Eärendil" Bilbo composes in Rivendell. The pendants are finished with two coats of UV-resistant gloss varnish on the front, and left unvarnished on the back so as to highlight the gritty earthen texture of the fired clay. They are signed and dated by the artist on the back. Each pendant measures approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and comes with a 21-inch silver-plated figaro chain. It will be packaged in a decorative Kraft jewelry box with velvety black backing, and accompanied by a printed and signed label detailing the specifications of the piece and including the quotation that inspired it.

Because these pendants are handmade and hand-painted, no two are identical, although all share the same colors and general design. Thus, the pendant you receive may not be exactly the same as the ones highlighted in the photos, but will be its own unique and original work of art.  

To ensure a long life for your hand-painted pendant, keep it dry and take care not to drop it or scratch the surface. Dust as needed with a clean microfiber cloth. 

Bryana Says

The Song of Eärendil is a lengthy epic poem that gives an account of one of the most important heroes in Tolkien’s Middle Earth: the purehearted mariner who risks everything to take a forbidden voyage to the immortal shores and appear before the gods with his plea for pity on behalf of the world. The poem is a wonder, a glowing feat of linguistic gymnastics, a song like a shimmery necklace. However, to find the whole story of Eärendil, you’ll have to go digging around in The Silmarillion, the fullest account of Tolkien’s mythos. And it’s when you read it in the context of this backstory that the significance of Eärendil’s saga becomes apparent.

The Silmarillion is a sad book. It’s about the catastrophic corruption of a once-harmonious world. It’s a catalogue of violence and loss. It’s full of hope deferred, and betrayals that make me heartsick. It presents a vision of existence that often feels essentially tragic, as though dimmed hearts and deception really are the truest things about us. But into the final chapter of this grim story, Tolkien sends Eärendil, his shiningest hero.

Everything about Eärendil is radiant. He arrives in a silver-white swan-ship and is partnered with a valiant woman. He becomes the bearer of the last of the Silmarils — the three jewels that hold unsullied light from the Two Trees in the Undying Lands. In the very courts of heaven, he’s greeted as “the longed for that cometh beyond hope...star in the darkness, jewel in the sunset…” And in the end, it’s Eärendil’s brave and lonesome odyssey that turns the tide of The Silmarillion. It’s Eärendil who is commissioned to sail the skies in a flying ship and wear the Silmaril as a star on his forehead and fight Ancalagon the Black, mightiest of dragons. After The Silmarillion’s long string of brutalities and calamitous mishaps, the bright story of Eärendil springs upon us like the sudden shaft of a searchlight switched on in heaven; like a homing device; like a letter from God.

When I settled down to design a set of pendants celebrating The Song of Eärendil, I found myself irresistibly drawn to sea-foam and purple—for me the colors of high fantasy—and to the image of a white-capped wave simply glowing with the light of the precious Silmaril Elwing wore on her breast as she flew over the waters in the form of a swan to reunite with Eärendil. 

I hope these pendants will be for their wearers like a small vial of that Undying Light from the country just out of reach. 

Shipping Notice
Ships for free within the United States! Please allow 1 week for this item to ship. 

International Shipping Notice
International shipping is available and will be calculated for you at checkout. Please allow 1 week for this item to ship. 

© 2023 Bryana Joy
The artist retains all copyrights.