Faculty of Design

Material Art & Design

Jenny Su

The Mother Goddess, Nüwa

"The pillars of Heaven were broken and the corners of the earth gave way. Hereupon Nü Kua melted stones of the five colours to repair the heavens ... She stopped the flooding waters, and thus rescued the land." - Sima Qian, ancient Chinese historian.

“A half human and half snake mythological being, Nüwa is both the creator and saviour of the first humans. She created humanity from clay and saved her children, the humans, during a great calamity when the sky ripped apart in the aftermath of a battle between gods. Unable to watch her children suffer from the consequences of the battle as the heavens fell, fires ravaged the earth, and water poured endlessly from the sky's opening, she searched for a way to restore order and save her children. Eventually, with the help of the sky turtle, Ao, she was able to realign the heavens and patch the sky with five magical stones coloured red, black, white, blue, and yellow. In one version of this story, one of the stones was not enough to fill the sky so Nüwa sacrifices her body to mend the rest. She is carved in her most powerful and important moments of creating and saving humanity. A ruby, a smoky quartz, a Herkimer diamond, an aquamarine, and a citrine gem represent the five stones she uses to fill the sky. The ring is detailed with a scene of flames erupting behind her as she extends her hands to protect her precious humans and gathers the stones to fix the sky. ”