Nadezdas Pelican

So I initially started my research for this, using Mongolian paper art as a search criteria. Finding nothing I moved into artifacts and textile patterns, trying to find something that would be appropriate for a Pelicans scroll. It took me awhile before I found an image from the Met Museum of Art, called a Paiza.

A paiza was a tablet carried by Mongol officials and envoys to signify certain privileges and authority. They were usually made out of metal (or the exant pieces are) with a hole towards the top that could be used to bind it to a cord.

Now I know nothing about working metal, but I did have the planks of beechwood, that I used to make the wax tablets and reliquaries for Nobelesse largesse.  

I cut them down to index card size 3x5 and drilled holes in them.  Then I carved out the center bits, with hand and dremel tool.  I used a gelstain in walnut to stain the wood from the raw.  

Then I cut four pieces of parchment with the hole in the center so that they might fit into the space that I'd just carved from the wood. They required a little bit of trial and error and trimming once I got them there as the template that I used to pattern on the wood and to cut the parchment for some reason didn't exactly match.

Each piece front and back had a parchment piece associated with it. They shared the dragon Motif at the top but otherwise each one was different.

The text was provided by Andreas but written by Mistress Aneleda Falconbridge of the East.

She flies with her own wings to serve the dragon. Let there be a pelican. In eternal gratefulness,

Cellach Rex, Vukasin Regina

At work one slow evening i translated into Mongolian. I did it letter by letter having no frame of reference for the language.

Then I glued them into each space, and bound them together. The kingdom seal was problematic as it didn't want to glue onto the parchment at all. I had to  use  sealing wax to  glue it to the parchment. I'm not certain how solid  The Binding is between the two. The cording was provided by the current Khan of The Horde.  The bag was made by Samii, on my request.  

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