Note: I've been writing poetry over this past few months by cutting-and-pasting (literally with scissors and tape) words and phrases from scholarly art-historical texts. I've posted examples on some other blogs: Fumblr and the Material Collective group blog. Here I turn that activity onto one of my own texts, a recently rejected article on ivory Virgin and Child statuettes, to both rescue something from this rejection and advance my thinking on this project by coming at it in a different way. Embellishing Ivories Allow us to imagine: some ivory buttons, an ivory comb several ivory and silver boxes. And a set of metal chains - set into a gold flower on the Virgin's chest. Gilt in her hair, red on the inside of her veil, a green belt with gilt embellishments. Supplemented by precious stones, emeralds as well as an emerald, and thirty-two pearls (one missing). Allow to us image, against the background of the scarcity that just appears from behind her,