But honey, it's not human bone...most likely.
This is a pendant. It's made of bone. Not human bone, as far as know. I made it. At least I cut, shaped, dyed, sanded, sealed it and drilled a hole in the top to accommodate the silver thingy so you can string it on a necklace. My girlfriend likes it but she won't wear it because it's made of bone. Go figure. I pointed out that she has a coupla hundred bones already, so one more won't hurt. And it's not like you can get cooties from a bone (at least this kind of bone. If you know what I mean. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge...). She pointed out that I was getting on her nerves and better shut up. It was a convincing argument.
Don't be rude.
There are some things of which you shouldn't make fun.
Religion is one of these.
At least you shouldn't make fun of rational religion. If your religion teaches that God hates Fags or that you should strap dynamite to your body and vaporize a bus full of old people and children, then you and your "religion" are worthy of nothing but utter contempt.
If you live in the southern United States, as I do, then you'll be familiar with self-righteous, queer baitin', nigger hatin', hellfire and brimstone preachin', snake handlin', strychnine drinkin', good ol' boy, functionally illiterate, jew despisin', Hitler lovin', tongue-speakin', religious fuckery. If you think you've met the most intolerant, tight-assed, rednecked, Billy Graham idolizing sumbitch in the whole world, then tell your local southern baptist preacher that you are a Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Catholic, Jew, Protestant of any other denomination, athiest, or anything else and you'll find that you didn't know squat. How these folks can be filled with so much poison hate and fear and still be alive and kicking is beyond my understanding.
Having said this, let me make clear that while making fun of something is one thing, poking gentle, good-natured fun at it is quite another. Despite what some people will tell you, I think that Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Ganesha, etc., all appreciate a good zinger. If you disagree, then your opinion is wrong and you should correct it to agree with mine...because mine is right. Some things deserve scorn and extreme vituperation and some don't. Stick with me and I'll teach you how to have correct opinions about all kinds of stuff.
I think this item is a Hindu monstrance of some sort. To me, the little figure just above the base seems to be Ganesha. It is possible that I am wrong, but the odds are exponentially against it. I like the Hindu religion a lot. Their Gods don't make you feel like a hellbound worm just for thinking your neighbor is sexy in her bikini. They understand that she is, indeed, sexy, and they appreciate that you were made in a way that makes it impossible not to appreciate sexy neighbors. And, I love the mystical and esoteric aspects of less orthodox Hinduism such as the Krishnas. The iconography is super cool, too. And don't forget the literature. The Bhagavad Gita is eyewateringly beautiful. As is much of the Buddhist Pali Cannon, and the Christian Bible and non-canonical works. You don't have to belong to a religion to learn from it. If you think Jesus didn't recycle a few words of wisdom from earlier wise men, then you're an idiot.
Anyhoo, here's the monstrance. It's brass, and very cool. A number of the flame tips have been broken off at some point, especially near the bottom but it's in great condition overall. I cannot find any makers' mark of identification of any kind on it, but I think we can safely assume it was made in the southeastern hemisphere at some point during the last millenium.
Religion is one of these.
At least you shouldn't make fun of rational religion. If your religion teaches that God hates Fags or that you should strap dynamite to your body and vaporize a bus full of old people and children, then you and your "religion" are worthy of nothing but utter contempt.
If you live in the southern United States, as I do, then you'll be familiar with self-righteous, queer baitin', nigger hatin', hellfire and brimstone preachin', snake handlin', strychnine drinkin', good ol' boy, functionally illiterate, jew despisin', Hitler lovin', tongue-speakin', religious fuckery. If you think you've met the most intolerant, tight-assed, rednecked, Billy Graham idolizing sumbitch in the whole world, then tell your local southern baptist preacher that you are a Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Catholic, Jew, Protestant of any other denomination, athiest, or anything else and you'll find that you didn't know squat. How these folks can be filled with so much poison hate and fear and still be alive and kicking is beyond my understanding.
Having said this, let me make clear that while making fun of something is one thing, poking gentle, good-natured fun at it is quite another. Despite what some people will tell you, I think that Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Ganesha, etc., all appreciate a good zinger. If you disagree, then your opinion is wrong and you should correct it to agree with mine...because mine is right. Some things deserve scorn and extreme vituperation and some don't. Stick with me and I'll teach you how to have correct opinions about all kinds of stuff.
I think this item is a Hindu monstrance of some sort. To me, the little figure just above the base seems to be Ganesha. It is possible that I am wrong, but the odds are exponentially against it. I like the Hindu religion a lot. Their Gods don't make you feel like a hellbound worm just for thinking your neighbor is sexy in her bikini. They understand that she is, indeed, sexy, and they appreciate that you were made in a way that makes it impossible not to appreciate sexy neighbors. And, I love the mystical and esoteric aspects of less orthodox Hinduism such as the Krishnas. The iconography is super cool, too. And don't forget the literature. The Bhagavad Gita is eyewateringly beautiful. As is much of the Buddhist Pali Cannon, and the Christian Bible and non-canonical works. You don't have to belong to a religion to learn from it. If you think Jesus didn't recycle a few words of wisdom from earlier wise men, then you're an idiot.
Anyhoo, here's the monstrance. It's brass, and very cool. A number of the flame tips have been broken off at some point, especially near the bottom but it's in great condition overall. I cannot find any makers' mark of identification of any kind on it, but I think we can safely assume it was made in the southeastern hemisphere at some point during the last millenium.
