Many years ago, I was experimenting with puffy peyote where different sized seed beads are used to create a piece of peyote that is shaped rather than flat. It was so long ago that I was still in my Matsuno bead phase. I used several different sizes of carnival purple beads and I still have the bracelet... I realised looking at it that there were hearts within the shapes of the bracelet and that if I used more colours, I could make them clear to others.
...but I didn't get round to doing anything with it....
Until now!
I wanted to use Miyuki seed beads and it took a little experimenting because the different sizes of Miyuki beads are slightly different in relation to each other than the Matsuno ones. Miyuki size 6 beads in particular are huge!
The heart shape is pretty distinctive but it represents the idea of the heart and is in no way an anatomical representation!
The shape is that of peepal leaves and this tree has long been considered sacred in the Indus Valley region for thousands of years. Siddhartha Gautama was sat under a peepul tree when he became enlightened, leading to the founding of Buddhism and because of this it is also known as the Bodhi tree. A heart shaped pendant was found in the valley and is perhaps the earliest archaelogical find of a heart shaped object.
The silphium plant also inspired the use of the heart symbol and coins from Cyrene have this shape on them. The plant was immortalized by Pliny and prized by the Egyptians and Romans and was extremely precious although no one is quite sure why! It seems likely it is now extinct as it only grew in the area around Cyrene, a north African city and this area has seen considerable climate change. Attempts were made to grow it and failed and it is believed the last stalk of it was given to the Emperor Nero.
It is believed that Silphium may have been the first effective contraceptive and allowed those that could afford it to be free in their love without risking pregnancy. Romans are believed to have been very sexually promiscuous and to have taken part in orgies. This may or may not have been true but their art certainly suggests they were open about sexuality. Did access to a reliable contraceptives fuel a Roman love revolution? Certainly in our own society, the availability of the contraceptive pill in the 60s and 70s gave rise to free love and sexual revolution.... The impact of the pill on our society is huge....
So initially the heart shape related to plants and specific leaves but as time passed it became linked to romantic love and by the Middle Ages, this connection was believed to be well known, although the symbol looked a little different... The point was generally upwards and the dent (now in the top) was not as well defined. That said, heart shapes in heraldry dating to the 12th Century are believed to be representations of water lilies.
I find it interesting that something so un-plant-like as the heart had its roots in plant leaves as a symbol. The symbol is certainly a huge part of life now. I have used this symbol multiple times today on social media....
This is my pinterest board here...
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