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Museum-Quality Matte Paper Print available in two sizes:
12" x 16" (30cm x 40cm): $35.00
24" x 32" (60cm x 80cm): $48.00
 
“...they rode back at last to Armenelos; for there by the King's wish his Heir would dwell, and a house was prepared for them amidst a garden of trees. There the Elven-tree was planted, and the Elven-birds sang in its boughs." - "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife", Unfinished Tales
 
"Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife" is one of J.R.R. Tolkien's most complex and haunting tales from the Second Age of Men. Set more than 5000 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this story from Unfinished Tales gives us one of our clearest glimpses of life on the island of Númenor, and an unforgettable tragedy involving the failure of a husband and wife to communicate and compromise. This original, hand-done painting takes you into the lives of Aldarion and Erendis.
 
Things to notice in this painting:
 
This is the courtyard of the house of Armenelos on the island of Númenor. 
In the courtyard stands Ancalimë, the tree given as a wedding gift by the elves to Aldarion and Erendis. Tolkien's description of this tree reminds me most of one of my own favorites: Populus alba.
In its branches perch the grey elven-birds, which were also given to the couple by the elves as a kind of blessing on their union.
A red kirinki bird perches near the fountain, which is set into a mural like those at the ancient Palace of Knossos in Crete.
In token of Erendis' great love of trees, the courtyard is surrounded by them, including the laburnum-like Laurinquë. 
Erendis sits alone beside her husband's vacant chair. On her brow, she wears Aldarion's gift of the white gem set in a silver fillet, and in her hand, she holds a branch of the bay laurel-like Oiolairë. This is the branch that is set on the bows of Númenorean ships in token of safe return.
Cloaked like a wave, Aldarion strides willfully away from both love and duty, heading toward the gulls and the sea. 
 
"Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife" is a true tragedy, but so beautifully written that it has been compared to the novels of Jane Austen for its preceptive exploration of human emotions surrounding courtship and marriage. Erendis' love of the land and Aldarion's love of the sea make it impossible for this couple to build a lasting home together, and their disunion carries consequences that resound through Middle-earth history.
 
By hanging a museum-quality print of his original, hand-done painting in your home, you can bring Númenor to life in all of its antiquity and splendor, and share with others the unforgettable tale of The Mariner's Wife.