During our adventures in Nassau, we had some free time to explore and we discovered the Heritage Village Artists' Studios. A two story business features locally made Bahamian crafts. In the open air patio was this beautiful display of unique bottle trees.
According to a placard, bottle trees started in Africa in the 1600's.The lore of the bottles was carried to America during the slave period. It was customary to hang a bottle on branches of trees on burial grounds. The belief was that in the dark of night, evil spirits would enter the bottles and then, during the day the spirits would burn away from the heat of the sun. Blue bottles were thought to be particularly useful. This artwork is the combined effort of the father daughter duo, Robert Russell and Sharon Garzaroli.
While walking along the street, we discovered this creative work tucked in a little alcove. The mystery and beauty of the island has been captured in the colorful artistic expression of the artist.
We had just enough time to visit the
National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, located on the corner of West and West Hill Streets. The two story museum has many galleries and and a variety of artists. The exhibit we saw was "From Columbus to Junkanoo" which highlights the growth and diversity of Bahamian art. Sadly, no photography allowed. But, certainly a recommended stop if in the area!
During our adventures in Nassau, we had some free time to explore and we discovered the Heritage Village Artists' Studios. A two story business features locally made Bahamian crafts. In the open air patio was this beautiful display of unique bottle trees.
According to a placard, bottle trees started in Africa in the 1600's.The lore of the bottles was carried to America during the slave period. It was customary to hang a bottle on branches of trees on burial grounds. The belief was that in the dark of night, evil spirits would enter the bottles and then, during the day the spirits would burn away from the heat of the sun. Blue bottles were thought to be particularly useful. This artwork is the combined effort of the father daughter duo, Robert Russell and Sharon Garzaroli.
While walking along the street, we discovered this creative work tucked in a little alcove. The mystery and beauty of the island has been captured in the colorful artistic expression of the artist.
4 comments:
Oh, bottle trees! Someone in my neighborhood has a blue bottle tree collection in their yard. That is the only place I have seen it. This is fascinating and so pretty.
Looks wonderful with all of those bright colors! Sitting here with a cloudy day seeing the sun in your photos cheers me up! xo
I've seen a couple of bottle trees on American blogs and thought, what a neat idea! Little did I know they've been around for centuries and have folk lore attached to them. I'd love that lavender bottle holder and fill it with blue bottles. ( I think, what comes in blue bottles anyway?)
I've seen lots of bottle trees (very popular in my town), but I did not know the history of them. Fascinating!
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