| After busting
ass in grad school for 2 years, I managed to land a small grant to research
Safavid Henna patterns, chemistry, and traditions. One of the best
ways to do such is to go to where original Safavid manuscripts are, and
one of those locations is London. London has the British Library
wherein are 15 million books and artifacts, some of which have henna research
material I couldn't possibly get anywhere else. So I went back to England
for the 4th time in 26 months, with enough grant money to put me up for
6 weeks.
I was first in England 36
years ago, when I was the young woman below. Now I'm the silly old
bat above, leaning against the Tardis.
|
Henna Pattern adapted from
architectural ornaments in St. Pancras station.
The
climate in England was never suitable for growing body art quality henna.
When henna was grown as an exotic plant in sheltered 19th century English
gardens and conservatories, it was called "Egyptian Privet". |
