Why has it taken me so long to design a Mandrake Root Charm? I have seen all the Harry Potter movies and watched Pan’s Labyrinth and throughout history, the mandrake root has been steeped in magical lore. Pictured below is my version of a Mandrake Root charm carved in green wax beside my completed Mandrake Root cast in sterling silver . The charm is 1 1/2″ high and completely three dimensional. I hope that my whimsical version of this enchanted plant will delight you.
Marty Magic Mandrake Root Charm in wax
Sterling Silver Mandrake Root Charm
My motivation for brining this design to fruition was an order of jewelry from a gallery in Paris named La Mandragore. The English translation of “La Mandragore” is the Mandrake. I researched the folk lore behind the mandrake and created this design. La Mandragore now carries my Mandrake Jewelry in their Paris galleries. Their website is enchanting and they have three shops in various neighborhoods or “arrondissements” in Paris. http://www.la-mandragore.com/index.html
La Mandragore Gallery, Paris
This new charm design will be a much needed addition to my “Savage Garden Collection.” I have had fun designing this piece and having the artistic freedom to entwine the roots and to create my unique vision of this most magical plant.
Harry Potter Mandrake Root -Image credit to Dream Scheme Studios
According to Dream Scheme Studios, credited for sculpting the screaming mandrake root for the Harry Potter movies; “a Mandrake, also known as Mandragora, is a plant which has a root that looks like a human (like a baby when the plant is young, but maturing as the plant grows.) Whenever unearthed, the root screams. The scream of a mature Mandrake when it is unearthed will kill any person who hears it, but a young Mandrake’s screams will usually only knock a person out for several hours.”
Pan’s Labyrinth Baby Mandrake Root – Image credit, Warner Brothers Studios.
The drawing below is a from a copy of Dioscorides’ Materia Medica, an herbal reference written in the first century that was in use through the 1500’s.
Drawing from Dioscorides’ Materia Medica
If you wish to read more about the medicinal and magical properties of the Mandrake Root, there is endless information on the internet.