"Let food be
thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food." Hippocrates
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| Doum, Carob, Star Anise and Senna |
Sometimes you find yourself painting a subject which
absolutely captivates you, and this week has been one of those weeks for me.
Yes, I know I tend to get pretty excited over most of my subjects, but the
spices from the Egyptian market have been a joy to paint. It’s not just the
rich colours and the variety of textures that have me spellbound, I’ve been
reading up about them too, and spices are quite simply fascinating.
Nowadays we give little thought to these aromatic seeds and
dried roots, but once upon a time, the Spice Trade was the world’s greatest
industry. In fact, the spice trade has shaped the world as we know it- empires
were created and destroyed, great fortunes were made and let us not forget, it
was the quest for a new spice route that led Christopher Columbus to discover America.
Spices come mainly from the Middle East and Asia, and for
many centuries, the Arab traders dominated the market. The wonderful tale of
Sinbad the Sailor was inspired by the spice trade- he was said to have been a
trader of cloves and cinnamon. Spices were brought from Arabia and Asia across land
by camel to Alexandria in Egypt, and from there were shipped to Europe.
Such
was the value of these spices (frankincense , myrrh, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves
and peppercorns to name but a few), that the source of these spices was kept a closely
guarded secret. To deter any rivals, the Arabs told fantastical tales about the dangerous creatures that the spice traders had to encounter.
Herodotus, a Greek historian in 5 BC wrote that cinnamon sticks were collected by huge and ferocious birds from an unknown land, and used to make their nests on sheer cliff faces. To get the cinnamon sticks, the Arabs would bring dead donkeys and oxen as bait. The birds would swoop down and seize the meat, carrying it up to their nests. However, the nests would not be able to hold the weight of the meat, and would fall to the ground, enabling the cinnamon sticks to be gathered by the waiting Arabs.
In fact, cinnamon is the inner bark of Cinnamomum iners , a fairly common shrub that grows in Arabia!
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With all these wonderful tales, it’s no wonder that I have
been enjoying painting these spices!
As this painting is for the SBA exhibition “Poisonous and Medicinal Plants” in Germany, I’ve also been researching their
medicinal uses.
The spices in the market are presented in large baskets,
which prompted me to paint this collection in a circular format. Although they all differ in colour, I kept the same colour palette throughout to bring harmony
to the composition. The smells were divine, always a bonus.
Carob, Ceratonia siliqua Known as “nature’s candy”, carob is a healthy alternative to chocolate. It helps to regulate the digestion process, while serving as a natural anti-allergic, antiseptic, and anti-bacterial agent. It also helps regulate blood glucose.
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| Carob, Star Anise and Senna |
Star Anise Illicium verum Traditional used in the
treatment of rheumatism, star anise is also the source of one of the main ingredients
of Tamiflu, used for the recent influenza outbreaks.
Senna, Senna alexandrina is mainly used as a
laxative
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| Cloves and Desert Gourd |
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum. Clove oil is widely used in dental treatments
for it’s anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and mildly anesthetic affects. In
medieval times it was used to preserve meat.
Desert Gourd, Citrullus colocynth A powerful purgative with
anti-inflammatory properties. Extracts from this plant are being used a therapy
for the prevention of breast cancer cells
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| Kaff Maryam and Galangal |
Kaff Maryam, Resurrection Plant Anastatica hierochuntica Traditionally used for menstrual cramps and to ease childbirth. I wrote about this plant on my blog here.
Galangal Alpinia officinarum The word
"galangal" comes from the Arabic form of a Chinese word for ginger,
liang-tiang. The galangal rhizomes were widely used for their stimulant and digestive effects in medieval
Europe, and were said to smell of roses and taste of spice. This
dried root has an important medicinal use- it contains high concentrations of
the flavonol galangin, which has been shown to slow the increase and growth of
breast tumor cells.
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| Cinnamon, dried Hibiscus , Cardamon |
Hibiscus, karkade Hibiscus sabdariffa Made from the dried flower calyces, this is usually made into a refreshing tea which is proven to reduce blood pressure
Cardamon Elettaria Has antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and tonic qualities, and is also a rich source of vitamins and minerals
Cinnamon Cinnamomum iners has powerful anti-viral
properties and has been used in the treatment of diabetes. However it has also recently
been shown to inhibit the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice
Nutmeg, Myristica fragrans has anti-fungal, anti-depressant, aphrodisiac, digestive, and carminative functions. It is also a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, zinc and magnesium, as well as being rich in vitamins B and C and folic acid.
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| The Spice Market, ©Shevaun Doherty 2014 |
"All that man needs for health and healing has been
provided by God in nature,
the challenge of science is to find it." Theophrastus
