Set Me As A Seal Upon Your Heart

This verse captures the intense desire explored by the lovers in Song of Solomon, and makes for a compelling gift to a husband or wife, or for a couple on their anniversary or wedding. The passage reads in its entirety: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned (Song 8:6-7).

Along the side are flame-like lilies, punctuated by gold seeds. This text treatment, like the whole book of the Song of Solomon, celebrates the presence of the divine in the love between a husband and wife. Executed in dramatic gold, orange, and sienna, it suggests the earthiness of human passion, and the strength of the bond created by Christian marriage.