“'Til Death Do Us Part” By Kate Bauman
[images: two photographs of an ornate silver-coloured knuckle-duster, with crystals set into the points in the style of engagement or wedding rings.]
[image one: the ornate knuckle-duster stands upright against a photographer's white back-drop. it is fully visible.
the silver metal is thin, round-edged, and polished to a shine. the four rings are structured and shaped like engagement rings. they are each the same, with a single transparent-white crystal set in the point. beneath each point is a small triangular gap in the ring itself.
the grip is round and empty, designed to wrap around the palm. the rings themselves, and the upper part of the inner grip, are smooth and featureless. the outer grip, and the lower portion of the inner grip, are adorned with filigree.
on the inner grip, the filigree curls point up and away from the centre of the grip, so that they would point into the inner knuckles when worn. on the outer grip, the filigree curls in many directions, and at the base branches out from the grip paralell with the outer rings. many of these would point into the palm when worn.
the nature, shape, and direction of the filigree creates multiple small points of contact with the hand when worn, both in the palm and in the inner knuckles. this is in contrast to the smooth, featureless grip found in utilitarian knuckle-dusters, and still visible in the rings themselves.]
[image two: the knuckle-duster worn on a pale-skinned human hand, the arm extending out of frame before the elbow. a fine dusting of ruddy hair is visible on the arm; the hand itself lacks visible hairs.
the hand, centred in the photograph and prominently displayed, is curled into a loose fist, with the thumb wrapped around the middle phalanges of the index finger, before the final knuckle. the thumbnnail, the only visible fingernail, is well-manicured and painted red.
the four rings of the knuckle-duster rest far back on the fingers, near to where they meet the palm. the crystal points are prominently displayed, and glitter in the light. the final curl of the filigree is barely visible extending out of the open portion of the palm near the thumb. the palm grip itself is concealed.
from this angle, the knuckle-duster is almost mistakeable for four identical rings, one on each finger.] i typically avoid providing commentary because i like to allow viewers to interperet the artwork presented in this blog for themselves. however, in this case, i shall opine:
