Cupid and eternal beauty
From classical mythology to romantic painting, love has been one of art's great obsessions. Not only as an abstract idea, but as a visible force, capable of moving the world, altering destinies and transforming those who experience it. From this imagery springs Cupid or Eros, the central figure of romantic iconography: a symbol of desire, impulse and the fragility of love.
At Alhaja, we draw inspiration from this visual and symbolic tradition to create pieces that function as small talismans. Jewels that hold ancient stories and are charged with emotion and meaning. Many of the images that have shaped our understanding of love in art are part of our visual and emotional universe.
In classical tradition, Cupid is not just a winged child. He is the god who shoots without warning and transforms whoever he touches. He is often depicted as an idealised, serene and harmonious figure, as in the cupids of the Renaissance and in the works of Raphael, where love has not yet been wounded and retains a balanced, almost perfect beauty.
One of the great mythological stories associated with this iconography is the story of Cupid and Psyche. In this myth, to love means to undergo trials, to trust blindly, to lose and to find again. This idea of love as a transformative experience has been represented time and again in art: from scenes of idealised beauty, where bodies seem suspended in an eternal promise, to images that freeze the exact moment when love brings life back, as in Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, where marble becomes eternity.
At Alhaja, we understand jewellery as a continuation of this symbolic tradition which finds during Saint Valentine's its most celebrated date. Cupids, hearts, protective figures and organic shapes echo ancient iconography. Just like art, our pieces speak of love, of bonds, of things that are cherished and protected. Like Cupid, jewellery is small but powerful.
And like love, it is always worn close to the heart.
