Really interesting, and what a cool niche to work in (although I also think it would be ... frustrating).
This part didn't parse for me:
[...] racks of wooden-handled brushes with bristles made from rat’s tail fur and the hair of pearl divers.
The hair of what? Can "pearl diver" mean something else than a human diver, hunting for pearls? Do they really donate their hair to make brushes? Why them? What ... ?
From what I've discovered, it must be a Japanese Lacquer Brush. Traditionally these are made from the hair of pearl divers, "selected as the finest and densest fibre."[1] Another reference I found quotes that "They say that the salt strengthens the hair"[2]
Thanks! I guess that makes sense, but I didn't think it through. I wonder what the original author thinks of that, do they expect their audience to be aware of this? Weird.
7 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 23.1 ms ] threadThis part didn't parse for me:
[...] racks of wooden-handled brushes with bristles made from rat’s tail fur and the hair of pearl divers.
The hair of what? Can "pearl diver" mean something else than a human diver, hunting for pearls? Do they really donate their hair to make brushes? Why them? What ... ?
[1] http://spitalfieldslife.com/2012/01/12/pedro-da-costa-felgue...
[2] https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b02309/