Unlocking Tradition: Ex-Forger's Islamic Bottle Challenge | Perspective
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Oxford historian Dr Janina Ramirez sets ex-forger Shaun Greenhalgh his hardest task yet. Shaun has to carve an Islamic bottle out of rock crystal in the style of the 10th-century Egyptian Fatimids. Rock crystal is notoriously fragile. Sourcing the right quantities of it is almost impossible. The real problems begin, however, when the carving is finished.
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Пікірлер: 179
It would have been nice to see the piece by itself...you know, because that’s the fooking point.
Just the type of video to strike fear into the hearts of the pretentious collectors of rare antiquities.....Atta boy Shawn.
@HappyQuailsLC
3 жыл бұрын
Are they pretentious or loving the items dearly, easily mistaken by those so disinclined, for pretention?
@serenegreene6984
3 жыл бұрын
@@HappyQuailsLC Exactly.
We BARELY got a look at the finished piece. More close-ups overall, please.
16:17 don't ever touch or startle someone using power tools, my goodness. I imagine it was set up for this shot, but just be smart about it lol
@namedrop721
3 жыл бұрын
She’s just annoying in general, and to do such an actively stupid thing on a show all about making incredibly difficult things with fiddly and dangerous machinery...
@ampunbangd4855
3 жыл бұрын
dude its literally a set up.
@nlmvanderburg
3 жыл бұрын
@@ampunbangd4855 You know how I wrote: "I imagine it was set up for this shot..." Bruh. I was commenting that documentaries and media like this make an example for viewers, and not everyone is smart enough to realize that it's staged.
@ampunbangd4855
3 жыл бұрын
@@nlmvanderburg ah sorry i probably was high when reading your comment dude. didnt notice it sorry
@nlmvanderburg
3 жыл бұрын
@@ampunbangd4855 Fair! Sorry I came off aggressive right off the bat. And thank you for comin back with no fear of mistakes lol. It's refreshing to see where so often people just wanna start a fight club in the comments section. :))
He is just the most incredible artist, there’s nothing he can’t make, amazing.
Incredible, such a great craftsman and artist, GENIUS NOT WASTED.
The drill bit has to be absolutely dead center to work (doesn't clamp down crystal jig and diamond drill bit is wobbly).
the miners are like. "its a job." while shes just losing itover sparkly rocks
Imagine making that without power tools or modern abrasives! I'd love to see someone do the experimental archeology to see how it was originally done.
@stephss
3 жыл бұрын
I thought that was the premise of the video. I'm pretty disappointed.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
Me too
@canadiangemstones7636
3 жыл бұрын
It’s not complicated. Simply takes months, and months, and months of work.
@masa461
3 жыл бұрын
It's not complicated, yet nobody did it to actually show how it was supposedly done in the past. The only way to know how this has been done in the past is to use authentic materials and tools, otherwise this is just a video about a contemporary artist who works with modern tools and creates contemporary artwork inspired by some supposedly ancient works of art.
I’ve been looking for good craft history videos for SO LONG!!! Thanks so much for this!! I hope there are more craft history episodes in the future ❤️😁
Thank you for this unique perpective on the art world 🎁🖼 So enjoy 😉 all your presentations 🛎
@mza2195
2 жыл бұрын
I hope that for you also. Have a good day, Miz A
That was great! Really informative. I love these.
Wow, he is beyond talented! He is a genius. I'm definitely a new fan.
@HumanResource-sp6fg
3 жыл бұрын
Me too
This is beyond beautiful. I am in awe of these beautiful talents and historical items. Wow
Absolutely love these. Sean is brilliant!
Well done, Shawn. Fine work and perseverance.
Woot! Saturday Waldemar vid!
I enjoyed this video. Thanks for posting.
Wow....ALL my favorite things in life: rock crystal, egypt, carving, history, and the V&A museum. This show can't get any better for me, thank you for posting and your hard work Shaun
This man amazes me, thanks for posting these
Amazing craftsmen is Shaun, but someone should buy him a drill press. That drill mounted on a frame and lever was wobbling around like it was destined to take off.
thanks for sharing. excellent series.
Come to Waterford. People have lumps of rock crystal decorating, and buried in, their gardens all across the City. They were everywhere in the 80's.
@anishulislam148
3 жыл бұрын
On my way
@timmullen678
3 жыл бұрын
That’s lead crystal glass from Waterford blow by glass blowers not carved from clear stone.
Utterly brilliant work! Even the little box was stunning! I can't imagine how that piece in the display was made... It's huge, and so intricate, and the age of it makes me wonder what tools were used 1k yrs ago.. Just magnificent! ♥️
A great history lesson. Guess Mr. Greenhalgh is an ancient Egyptian jeweller reincarnation! From Brazil with love.
Maybe if the advise from a Lapidarist would have made your job very much easier. A brace holding your crystal structure, within a water filled vessel, with 50,000 grit Diamond dust floating , in the water as it spins?
Thank-you for what you give us.
How did the ancients carve out the inside of the curve ?
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
Good question. I guess they used curved tools and lots of elbow greasing
When I was in my high school I went to Sydney and I found out there are a lot of man making hand Made crystal carving in darling harbour
Great video. The design sudendly changed to a simple pattern at the end. If the vine design was to complicated to be realised why they don't mention it simply. He seams to be a little sad while presenting the flask after all his work.
Simply amazing. Very skilled artist. Thanks
Great little vid, but I'm unclear about the finished vessal.. the pattern on the side is totally different to what Shaun started with. What happened there?
Here i grew up sewing skirts and aprons et al. on a pedal Singer sewing machine. I do imagine pedal powering of some sort
@masa461
3 жыл бұрын
It should be, such tools have been around for a long time.
Tremendous artist. One of the greats in my lifetime.
Beautiful and amazing pieces. Those clever Egyptians.
It would be great if you guys focused more on the crystal rather than unnecessary walking shots and staged scenes
1:40 absolutely exquisitely beautiful
Respect for Shaun's work, given he used such poor tools. He should have used a proper bench drill with a stable mount for the crystal. This thing he made from wood looked very unstable.
@TimGreig
2 жыл бұрын
Totally agree: a Bench Press Drill, a lathe and then polishing it with a drill clamped to the bench!
Oh thank you Waldemar! "Forgery for Dummies" is just what I always wanted to do. Does it come with a certificate of achievement? Great program. Brilliant! (Pun absolutely intended!)
is it just me or was the chemistry between them just absolutely active?
"You're Mister Leonardo". This is the man who drew "La Bella Principessa", and a good many eminent Leonardo scholars assure him that he's mistaken, even now.
This is a great show
8:51 He left my man on hold. Didn't even shake his hand
Her reaction while on her exploring adventure In seeing the stones is a gem in itself. It take for granted that I live in Wyoming the Gem State. Go crystal do for fun. A lot of a do, because it's Wyoming. The best place to go Wyoming is outside of Yellowstone. Highest gem stone capacity in Wyoming available to the public. Wyoming has ust about every gemstone there is scattered throughout. What makes this possible is Yellowstone MASSIVE Volcano and geothermic activity throughout the state. Walk anywhere Around the Cody city limits just outside of Yellowstone keeping your gaze at the ground chances are you'll see something sparkling backup at you through the ground 😉 Its so common placed that I forget that people don't get to experience this. , & when they do for the 1st time it's priceless °~.♡.~°
@amc8409
3 жыл бұрын
I thought Idaho was the gem state... What is "go crystal do" & "a lot of a do"? Is it a slang term for rock hounding? I'm not being sarcastic..I'm trying to learn about new activities.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
I never been gem hunting nor to a gem mine. I'd absolutely loved to!
@UNUSUALUSERNAME220
Жыл бұрын
@@amc8409 You are right! I'm not sure how someone who lives in that state could get that wrong but, Idaho is The Gem State. Wyoming is, The Cowboy State, The Equality State even Big Wyo but it definitely is NOT, The Gem State.
Work of art.
Oh, Waldy-Thanks! Such a reminder of my Grandmother Peterson’s American Crystal Collection here in Wyoming fron late 19th/Early 20th Century Treasures, now shared by the family generations to follow. ❇️
I wonder if using jeweler’s polishing slurries, as the stuff used to polish opals (see black Australian opal sites) might have cut time spent polishing?
Shaun doesn't secure his jig for the crystal and has a crap bit that wobbles. This is how you create a fracture in a fragile stone.
@Skinflaps_Meatslapper
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah it's pretty easy to see how the first one developed a crack. I was actually pretty surprised that the diamond wheel didn't destroy the second one, you could hear it wasn't tracking concentric when it contacted the crystal.
Very interesting project and impressive craft. One thing I'll never understand is why, when the finished bottle finally came out of the box we had to watch the faces rather than the bottle. Also, what happened to the floral design? I did not see the Kufic inscription closely but it did not look very convincing from what I did saw.
Holy moly. That vase.😇🙌👏😎
FANTASTIC~!
What a legend this guy is
The Islamic bottle that Shaun made is sooo nice, cheers to a great job!!!
I think Shaun is trying to remove too much material too fast. Getting the contact point too hot.
@mayageorge1847
3 жыл бұрын
Yes! Stone carving is not just about tools and knowledge, it is about patience!
As a non-native speaker I do understand linguistic variety and need for more democratic approach to expression and accent, but in all honesty I do miss old school BBC English, and especially those times of normal calm talking without these emphatic exaggerations and artificial hyped-up exuberance intended to keep those with ADHD anchored... Fantastic program, but sadly both narrator and the main art historian (both recognized experts) sound mildly cocainized. The master forger was a bit camera shy but much more composed and coherent, if I may say so.
the failure rate for these things would not be 9/10 failures, thats just what you get for buying things off the internet. if you can inspect the crystals before you buy them you arent going to buy cracked crystals.
@mayageorge1847
3 жыл бұрын
He was working way too fast. The crystal was fine.
@treewizzard
3 жыл бұрын
@@mayageorge1847 the crystal had flaws and he might have been too fast with clearly not very good equipment. if everything was perfect and that core drill wasnt so wobbly it would take lots and lots of force to break the stone like that. he said he has made others and he made the vessel in the video.
2:00 expectation Vs 26:53 reality. 😬 I'm no gem cutter, but I could see by the way he put a drill in vice grips, he wasn't qualified to do the ambitious work he sought to do. Maybe that's why he got caught and went to jail in the past.
@joehynes5929
Жыл бұрын
do you have any idea as to the extent of items this man forged and who he fooled? he fooled sothebys, christies the british museum and the list goes on. the queen unveiled one of his pieces at a museum. he is incredible and probably the best craftsman forger we have ever seen.
Glassblowers work quartz, perhaps the vessel was made with heat in a furnace and hand carving (cold working) at the end. Seems to make more sense than someone carving a giant chuck.
@canadiangemstones7636
3 жыл бұрын
Glass is not quartz.
Wonderful mind he has
Tell me if this is a stupid question ... but then was this filmed? Upload in January 2021 ... it looks like they have summer there ... right? Just curios
This and other late pieces often get neglected here. Our culture is more than just our ancient ancestors, ya know? We have Greco-Roman art too, the Byzantine art and of course the Arab art (which continues to this day). So thanks for bringing this into the limelight.
I'm wondering how much it costs to make it.
I have found success in cutting using air......vacuum to remove the dust and a continuous flow of low volume air on the cutting area.
from what source is dating come from ? i will be more incline to be a pre dynastic time in line with so many impossible rock carving
I don't understand why he doesn't at least use a drill press with a good arbor and bearings. Or better yet a mini lathe and a dremel. If he is going to use modern tools he might as well use the right ones. The carpenter seems more equipped to do the begining work. Where Shaun seems to shine is the carving!
What about smoothing the crystal's surface by annealing and acid etching? This could be done after protecting the designed areas.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
Don't think that's how Egyptians did it
@masa461
3 жыл бұрын
Did the Egyptians use modern power tools? This is not a historical reconstruction, this is just a guy trying to make a copy of an old carving with modern tools and failing miserably.
Absolutely terrible, such a shame that these evil influences can be spoken of on the internet. Keep this out of your homes.
just how would the inside have been holllowed out?
Imagine hand carving no electric tools. How long did that huge vase take?
nobody mentioned the sensible shoes. my first clue that this was going to be BS.
I just can't help but wonder if that woman has only one pair of shoes and one dress, alternatively a number of identically looking ones. Because she wears the exact same thing in every episode. Although it would be more accurate to say that the shoes and the dress wear her...
@franciscouderq1100
3 жыл бұрын
Ostblock Latina: yup and she is having a hard time walking with such prosthetic pair.
Perhaps if he used a real drill press that did not wobble and destroy the rock ?
So theories on how it was made 3000 years ago without a diamond drill?
@Skinflaps_Meatslapper
3 жыл бұрын
These vessels were dated to a thousand years, not three thousand, and he demonstrated how it was done with a bow drill.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
1000 years. Not 3000.. Get your history straight
@masa461
3 жыл бұрын
1000 years or 3000 years, that's not the point, the point is that he never showed how to do it without modern power tools. And no, he has not demonstrated how this can be done with a bow drill. If he drilled at least 1mm into the crystal with a bow drill and then switched to power tools to save time, I would agree that he showed how to do it without power tools, but he didn't.
@Skinflaps_Meatslapper
3 жыл бұрын
@@masa461 Maybe read a book FFS This has been well documented in antiquity, by the people that did it, and demonstrated in modern times. Just because you didn't see him doing it with a bow drill in this particular video, doesn't mean it's not possible and it was never done in the past. There's a difference between being a skeptic and burying your head in the sand.
@masa461
3 жыл бұрын
@@Skinflaps_Meatslapper The point of the video was to show how it was done in antiquity, but he didn't do it. And if they were just going to use modern tools anyway, why didn't they film somebody who knows how to do it right?
I wonder if the crystals found in Herkimer NY would be quality enough to make some of these and how much one could sell for at the size he made. Obviously if someone were to make some of these they could not be sold as anything but reproduction work. Put inside a beautiful box like he had made with a nice silk lined interior. For people with some money but not at the level a museum has for buying the real things.
The sounds of his work was basic stone torture...too fast and off center sounds. You can source all the quartz crystal you need in Arkansas and much larger...hand held work will allow you to slightly cut down the uneven distribution of the diamond tools pressure on the stone.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
Was he in Arkansas? Nope. Did he order it online. Yep.
I’d have that crystal under water if I was going to use a power drill
"A diamond in the rough" or "A crystal in the rough" would be apt description of this documentary. There is a lot of rubbish to go through to enjoy the sheer knowledge of the ancient arts and crafts. Lady host is overly rambunctious in the contrary to grumpy and reclusive craftsman to raise comedic efect like black vs white and so on. It really makes hard to go through... I sort of want and fear to see more of "Handmade in Bolton" because of cheap contrast comedy. I simply would love to see more of Shaun Greenhalgh alone explain his hardships to recreate the art.
The carpenter don't know what kind of wood he used. He is a cobbler....
Lol why didn't he shake his friends hand hmm 🤣
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
Right?! Noticed it and he pushed his friend inside his own atelier. Wthh
@AsheleaPenquite
3 жыл бұрын
I came to the comments to see if anyone else noticed that. He was obviously offering his hand and the artist just shoved him inside, as said above. Very peculiar.
Is it 10th century BC or After C ?
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
1000 Common Era (A. C.)
How would the original artisans due this without high speed drill and grinders?
@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer
3 ай бұрын
slowly and carefully?
Black and red dress to.
Please forgive my ignorance, but this is the first show I've seen. So, Shaun paid the dude for the box (100!? Wow!)...I was expecting him to get paid as well. I wonder how much it would cost. Especially since he gilded it after doing all that work. Gianina is pretty bossy & seems to act entitled.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
She's not his boss. She got an idea and brainstormed with him challenging him to do it.
16:20.... i got nervous 😅
LOL yeah right LOL LOL
Dude, why copy when you could have created your own thing. WOW!
3:55 did they hire red cocktail dress pedestrian to just stand there in the midday street for color balance? Weird.
@moiraswife
3 жыл бұрын
LOOOOL I THINK THEY ACTUALLY DID
@garydude1991
3 жыл бұрын
lol definitely. I would have never known unless you said it.
@TimGreig
2 жыл бұрын
That WAS weird
The presenter Dr Janina Ramirez made this basically unwatchable... :-/
@tersamathew7034
3 жыл бұрын
Agreed
I have the same non-professional, make shift Workshop
Romans had glass!
@jcarlos1834
3 жыл бұрын
@ Rik Hendriks, Yes, but at 5:26 Dr Janina Ramirez explains that "the Quran states that, in paradise, they can drink in rock cristal vessels". Hence the importance of cristal rock made vessels at that time.
@bulletsfordinner8307
3 жыл бұрын
It's a matter of craftsmanship not making usable glass. And crystal is not the same as glass anyway. You can still buy a lot of vases and other decorative items in crystal. Do you really believe that it is made of glass? 🤣
@jcarlos1834
3 жыл бұрын
@@bulletsfordinner8307 Ok, but rock cristal vessels had (or still have) for them (the muslims) a special religious simbolism; in this case, glass vessels or gold vessels would not have the same appeal.
@stiannobelisto573
Жыл бұрын
@@jcarlos1834 that is meant more as poetry, not to be taken as science
I don't like the idea getting online, c'mon get it raw,more problematic
"This guy can make anything". Me: Oooo, wooow. Can't wait to see the end result! Finished product: Me: Ummm... Can't even do a simple pattern with curves. "It has to be exact centre". EyEbAlLs It. That guy is so dodgy. "I kept a record of how many hours". LOL.
100 quid for a wee box!!!! Shame on him
"An Islamic Bottle" ?! A Catholic spoon perhaps? A Jewish salad fork maybe?
How ironic buying crystals online, lots of fake man made quartz out there.
lol look they used a stick and a string and made this, well im going to use a diamond bit electric drill and it's very difficult🤯🤮👍👨🏫 obviously they didn't use a string and stick with a copper dowel that somehow has diamond powder embedded😹😹 wheres an Egyptian diamond drill bit🤣🤣🤣🤦♂️
More clear speech , less Janina.
You can't create that without electricity and electric powered tools.
A proper drill-press would be in order, even a cheap-ass one from China is going to give you a better result than the contraption he's using at 15:49. The noticeable wobble at the contact point of the bit has me smh.
3:55 elo elo elo guvnor?