Gray Foundation Collection
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York
November 22, 2011–November 27, 2016
[Photo by KPA]
Lilies of the valley are late spring flowers, but they reminded me of snowdrops, which are one of the first flowers to come out in spring.
Here's a closer look at the design of the lily of the valley (from the Faberge exhibition):
Snowdrops are slightly larger, and their flowers are more open:
Snowdrops may indicate that spring (true spring, not the calendar spring) is around the corner, if it hasn't arrived yet, but the lily of the valley is a more poignantly beautiful flower.
According to Christian legend, it is:
...known as Our Lady's tears or Mary's tears from Christian legends that it sprang from the weeping of the Virgin Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus. Other etiologies its coming into being from Eve's tears after she was driven with Adam from the Garden of Eden or from the blood shed by Saint Leonard of Noblac during his battles with a dragon.Here are some symbolic meanings of the lily of the valley:
The name "lily of the valley" is used in some English translations of the Bible in Song of Songs 2:1, but the Hebrew phrase "shoshannat-ha-amaqim" in the original text (literally "lily of the valleys") doesn't refer to this plant. It's possible, though, that the biblical phrase may have had something to do with the origin or development of the modern plant-name.
It is a symbol of humility in religious painting. Lily of the valley is considered the sign of Christ's second coming. The power of men to envision a better world was also attributed to the lily of the valley. [Source: Wikipedia]
-Return of happinessThese are the verses from Song of Solomon (2:1-17), which mention the lily of the valley:
- Purity of heart
- Sweetness
- Humility
- Happiness
- Love's good fortune
- It is also believed that this flower protects gardens from evil spirits. [Source]
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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