Gemma Arrow no. 40

Gemma is Latin for “jewel.” It is the brightest star in Corona Borealis – the Northern Crown – sparkling at the center of a semicircle of stars like a gem set in a crown.

In Greek mythology, Corona Borealis is the crown worn by Ariadne at her wedding to the god Dionysus. Ariadne – the princess who saved Theseus from the Minotaur’s labyrinth, only to be abandoned by him on the island of Naxos – was found weeping by Dionysus, who fell in love with her and made her his wife. She wore a crown made by Hephaestus on their wedding day, and when the ceremony was over, she threw it into the sky. The jewels became stars. The crown became the constellation. The brightest jewel in that crown is Gemma.

This arrow is mauve wine and gold stripes – the colors of a crown, of ceremony, of something precious and deliberate. Turkey feather fletch, naturally shed. Hand-shaped hardwood shaft, stained, finished, and branded with the Hotfelt mark. Made in Los Angeles. One of a kind.