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Made to order archived design 2-3 weeks for delivery! Beads and charms can become unavailable over time. All effort will be made to come as close as possible to the photographed design. Coupons do not apply.
Massenet's opera Thais is beloved by many. The tale follows the journey of of a woman, Thaïs, as she leaves the life of a courtesan and becomes a saint. Athanaël is the pious devoted monk determined to save her soul who loses his own faith in the process. It is an intense story of salvation and tragedy set against the starkly contrasting backgrounds of the Egyptian desert and opulent Roman Alexandria.
Each bead and charm of the Thais Opera Bracelet represents a character or moment from the work. Some of the most important beads and charms are described below and you can see all of the symbolic descriptions on the spiral chart photo above or to the left. Also, a story chart explaining the symbolism of the beads and charms accompanies every bracelet. Click here to see the chart.
- Neutral colored beads comprise the majority of the bracelet to evoking the colors of the desert setting.
- The wise monks, who see beyond the world, including Athanaël, are represented by cat's eye beads.
- Thaïs is represented by a fluted gold glass bead inspired by her golden hair.
- A swirled gold and brown bead is symbolic of Athanaël's dreams and visions of her.
- Wealthy Nicias is represented by an elegant faceted bead.
- Tiny cross beads symbolize the gift of faith given by Athanaël to Thaïs.
- Beads graduating from the deep colors of night to the rosy golden dawn frame a tiny dove bead representing Thaïs' meditation and transformation thru the night of reflection.
Charms included in the bracelet include:
- Venus and Eros, symbolizes Thaïs's former life as a priestess of Venus
- A pyramid represents the setting of Egypt
- Palm trees indicate the desert oasis
- Angel and harp charms symbolize Thaïs' death and saintly journey to heaven.
