An Orientalist Fantasy in Sequins starring Theda Bara as ‘the Vamp’
LILIMOTH
A fool there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you or I)
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
(We called her the woman who did not care)
But the fool, he called her his Lady Fair
(Even as you or I)
– Kipling, ‘A Fool there Was’ 1897
MEDUSUN
“But, list, Ianthe! when the air so soft
Fail’d, as my pennon’d spirit leapt aloft,
Perhaps my brain grew dizzy-but the world
I left so late was into chaos hurl’d-
Sprang from her station, on the winds apart.
And roll’d, a flame, the fiery Heaven athwart.
Methought, my sweet one, then I ceased to soar
And fell-not swiftly as I rose before,
But with a downward, tremulous motion thro’
Light, brazen rays, this golden star unto!
Nor long the measure of my falling hours,
For nearest of all stars was thine to ours-
Dread star! that came, amid a night of mirth,
A red Daedalion on the timid Earth.”
– Poe, ‘Al-Aaraaf’, 1829
Why have you hated me in your counsels?
For I shall be silent among those who are silent,
and I shall appear and speak.
Why then have you hated me, you Greeks?
Because I am a barbarian among [the] barbarians?
For I am the wisdom [of the] Greeks and
the knowledge of [the] barbarians.
– from ‘The Thunder:Perfect Mind’, Nag Hammadi Texts
*Read blogpost about the mystery behind Medusun HERE*
ANATHEMIA
Far-called our navies melt away —
On dune and headland sinks the fire —
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe —
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law —
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget — lest we forget!
– from Kipling’s ‘Recessional’, 1897.
Violently she smites and gloats,
Anat cuts them down and gazes;
her liver exults in mirth…
for she plunges her knees in the
blood of soldiers, her loins
in the gore of cleaving among the tables.
– From the “Ras Shamra Texts” (Canaanite cuneiform tablets),
Syria Primitive, sacrificial rights of Anat (Anath)
*Read blogpost on the inspiration behind Anathemia HERE*
Sorry, these tapestries are not for sale!