The winning pony in the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year horse race was not bookie favourite blue, but Emerald Green. On the surface a soothing, optimistic colour, did the jury not realise Lucifer first popularised the green gemstone? The red horned, van Dyck bearded and pointy tailed Satan wore an emerald studded crown before he became a fallen angel. Your scribe finds this a cheering thought, as it makes Emerald seem a realistic choice for grim 2013 prognosticators e.g. Sir Mervyn King. If the global economy is going to hell in a handbasket, and the Qatar global warming summit aids the decline of civilization, then three cheers for Emerald Green. It’s both realistic and optimistic.
“Zorbus”, circa 1950 Swedish wool rug by Marin Hemmingson from Doris Leslie Blau. Photograph courtesy of Doris Leslie Blau.
Your scribe nominates “Zorbus”, a circa 1950 Swedish wool rug from Doris Leslie Blau as the perfect Emerald ambassador for 2013. Rather than the clear teal and jade shades shown in blogs celebrating the new king of colour, “Zorbus” reflects the gemstone’s nuanced colouring and multiplicity of shades similar to the complex colouring of the Smithsonian’s Madeleine Murdock Moghul Emerald necklace. Designed by Marin Hemmingson, and woven by MMF workshop, the rug was once in the collection of the Swedish consulate, New York.
Is Emerald Green a good or bad omen for 2013? It is neither of course. Nevermind the doom and gloom forecasters and whether the world will end tomorrow on the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year, “green is good” to paraphrase Gordon Gekko. And that’s good enough for your scribe. DJ
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