Orchis was a young Greek god, beautiful and in some respects even a little too fiery.
The son of a Nymph and a Satyr (he was well born, in short, Olympian upper-middle class..) he leveraged his beauty to win the most charming and graceful young ladies.
And so it was that, during a feast in honor of Bacchus, amid dancing and rivers of Phoenician and Greek wines, our hero got a little too close to one of the priestesses, precisely, of Bacchus.
Sacrilege! Abuse! Violence! On trial!
Orchis thought he could escape the vengeance of the very powerful Priestess Moira (she was the one who judged and punished this kind of abuse) with some trivial excuse such as. "After all, it was a party, there had been drinking and dancing, the atmosphere was just right, and besides, believe me, Her Excellency Moira, that priestess, instead of praying, always looked at me.. Certain looks that I...understand me I was also a bit drunk...I lost my mind and found myself in her arms! In short I didn't want to, I was concussed, Your Honor!"
But the old priestess, who considered as mortal sins all acts that she could no longer commit due to over age limits, had no mercy (but much envy!!) and so our Orchis was mauled by the ferocious beasts.
His kin Gods of Olympus, however, decided not to allow the memory of the beautiful Orchis to be lost as well, and arranged for a flower to be born from his remains that would reproduce the male anatomical appendages that had been the cause of his misfortune ( IT WILL BE EASY FOR YOU TO RECOGNIZE THEM).
That is why orchids as well as being the symbol of refinement and luxury, and are given as gifts to recognize and pay homage to sensuality and 'elegance. Perhaps it is the only flower that implies, always, a second (hopefully happy) ending.
WELL, NOW THAT I HAVE RECOUNTED THE MYTHOLOGICAL BIRTH OF THE MOST UNHINGED FLOWER ON THE GLOBE (AND, AS IT HAPPENS, ALSO THE MOST DESIRED BY WOMEN), LET'S COME TO TALK ABOUT OUR FIREPLACE, A UNIQUE SPECIMEN IN THE WORLD.
UNIQUE SPECIMEN, “SPECIMEN OUT OF SERIES” BECAUSE, IF IN ALMOST HALF A CENTURY OF SAILING (I WOULD SAY ALMOST “SWIMMING,” SO I FEEL MORE IMMERSED, MORE INTERPENETRATED IN THE MARE MAGNUM OF THE ANCIENT FIREPLACE) I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE LIKE IT, IT MEANS THAT THIS FIREPLACE MANTEL WAS BORN FROM A SPECIFIC COMMISSION.
AGREED, THE BASIC MODEL WAS THE CLASSIC POMPADOUR PIED GALBE' (FOR MANY “THE VERY IDEA OF THE FIREPLACE”) BUT THE SCULPTURE OF THAT FANTASTIC DEVILISH FLOWER WAS, WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, REQUESTED BY A SPECIFIC COMMISSION.
NOW THE QUESTION REMAINS.
DID THIS REQUEST COME FROM THE HUSBAND?
OR FROM THE WIFE?
WE WILL NEVER KNOW, ALTHOUGH WE DO KNOW WITH EQUAL ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT, HAD THE WIFE NOT AGREED, THE HUSBAND WOULD HAVE BOUGHT A BEAUTIFUL BUT VERY NORMAL AND ABOVE ALL CHASTENED POMPADOUR GALBE'.
WE HAVE FOUND THIS MANTEL IN OLAND LAND BUT FROM EVIDENTAL ELEMENTS (at least obvious to insiders) WE UNDERSTAND HOW ITS DESIGN IS FRENCH (FOR PRECISION PARISIAN) AND ITS SCULPTURE WAS MADE IN ITALY (LUNIGIAN).
ITS PRESERVATION AND PATINA ARE IMPECCABLE, ITS PERIOD OF BIRTH BEING THAT OF NAPOLEON III OR SECOND EMPIRE AS IT MAY BE.
