Needful Things
Well, in a sense. True there are needful things which certainly are needful in the fullest sense of the word/phrase. These are not among them on that kind of scale of needfulness. Truly needful things are those which we require to perpetuate our existence. This type of needfulness is for those whom life has already blessed with all the necessities of life. And these people look outside their needfully-fulfilled lives to find satisfaction in acquisitions which give pure pleasure in ownership as a value-added item, for example, of rarity, or beauty, or examples of creativity, artistry, and at times all of these attributes can be encompassed in a single item of antique value.
In that sense many people, ourselves included, look forward to perusing what dealers term "antiques", which occasionally have earned that singular title, but far more frequently represent the spectrum from gently aged, to collectibles of questionable aesthetic value, to outright junk. It's in the search, the discerning eye, the experienced seeker-after-treasures that the quest sometimes comes to fruition. And more often, does not.
One could look at this preoccupation with acquiring the rare, the beautiful, the cunningly manufactured, the artistically rendered item as a kind of rarified recycling. Many of these types of items have been handed down through generations within a family, if they're of true heritage status, and many others have been sold and re-sold countless times. If only these items could speak, imagine the fascinating tales they could divulge: of human enterprise, of human greed.
Over the space of the last four decades we've sought out and bought items that appealed to us, and we've lived with them happily. We've never de-acquisitioned any of our delightful finds, although we have given many of them, ranging from 19th century Canadian and American furniture, to ceramics, to paintings and clocks, and early tools, to our children. As they've given us pleasure in ownership, they render to our children that same pleasure.
On our most recent trip to New Hampshire we were able to visit various antique venues, group shops selling collectibles and antiques, just as we have done for many years. We've seldom been completely disappointed in what we find available, although we invariably leave many shops wondering whether the market has dried up completely, to explain the proliferation of trash masquerading as treasures.
But look here! We found a small bronze clock of a female in Grecian garb holding aloft an unusual type of timepiece; the whole termed a "mystery clock", a French-made clock of the 19th century. We discovered in another shop, a Japanese bronze of a warrior, a Samurai. In yet another shop, this one specializing in old clocks and owned and operated by a knowledgeable young man who actually repairs these old clocks, another "mystery clock". Ah, but this 41"-tall clock, although not dreadfully new, is a Chinese-manufactured knock-off, a copy. Another group shop had a portrait of a woman, housed in a wonderful old frame. The painting looks Italian in origin, and surely pre-dates the 19th century. Treasures, all of them.
They could, of course, depending on personal values and perceptions, be someone else's idea of trash. I'm open to that possibility.
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, June 15, 2006
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