Warning: Sending a heart of a snake anonymously could land you a fine of £100000.

Warning: Sending a heart of a snake anonymously could land you a fine of £100000.

The Valentine heart is probably the most universal icon in the world. Representing the idea of the heart as the centre of emotion, it however looks nothing like a human heart. Dissection of the human body was against the Churches’ teachings and anatomy had to be learnt by dissecting animals. Snakes, Lizards and Crocodiles have hearts not dissimilar to that of the heart shape that we all know.

The illustrations for Barberino’s ‘documenti d’amore’ are believed to the first to show a scalloped heart which portrayed Cupid shooting arrows from a horse garlanded by a wreath of hearts. Such was the poem’s popularity that the image of the scalloped heart became the depiction of love in romantic writings, paintings and other art forms, notably Le Don du Coeur tapestry which showed a gesture of love represented by a red scalloped heart.

The idea that a heart could be given away finds its genesis in the French poem by Thibaut ‘Le Roman de la Poire’ which presented the idea that a person in love can give away their heart like a lover gives away his pear.

Valentine’s Day itself was possibly an attempt by the Church to Christianize the pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia and replace it by Valentines feast day. It was mentioned by Chaucer, and in many countries, Valentines Day is the day of love and friendship. After the famous English victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the imprisoned Charles, Duke of Orleans in the Tower sent possibly the first ‘Valentines poem’ to his wife.

On this day of love therefore a scalloped heart can be given away with profound meaning.

There are of course always spoilers and technically anybody sending an anonymous Valentines gift could be breaking the law and subject to a £100000 fine or even a custodial sentence. Under the turbid GDPR it is illegal to hold another individual’s personal details without making a declaration of it.

Certainly, Jane Austen did not foresee the advent of GDPR when she wrote the most romantic line ever, according to a Channel 4 poll, ‘My heart is, and will always be, yours’ in Sense and Sensibility.

More cupid than turbid, and more in the tradition of Jane Austen than Hansard, Creative Noir Jewellery’s silver heart collection by Sam Morton beautifully interprets this historic scalloped heart. These stylish handcrafted pieces have modern twist for lovers and friends to give away as an eternal gift of deep emotion so needed in these times. Just let them know who has given it or you may end up like the Duke of Orleans in the Tower of London.

Sam’s superb innovative collection can be viewed either on her Etsy shop or on the website that supports local independent business in Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire Totally Locally

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Handmade Silver Jewellery by cnhandmadejewellery on Etsy

creativenoirjewellery – Totally Locally Hebden Bridge

Sam can be contacted at creativenoirjewellery@gmail.com or on creativenoirjewellery facebook and Instagram pages.