this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
355 points (97.8% liked)
Mildly Interesting
25200 readers
155 users here now
This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.
This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?
Just post some stuff and don't spam.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
If it hadn't used mother of pearl and tortoiseshell, which weren't particularly rare at the time, they would have used things like rosewood, ebony, and ivory. So either way, precious materials were going to be used.
At least they are being used in the service of Art, and Music, instead of something vain, or selfish, like jewelry or beauty accessories. If these materials are going to be harvested anyway, using them to create a fine musical instrument, which can then be used to create beautiful music for a century, or possibly longer, is a worthy use of those precious natural materials.