If you had to pick your one favorite antique, your most treasured antique find, what would it be?
I took a stroll through my own house asking myself this very question…
Peeking into armoires, staring at 18th century this’s and 19th century that’s….
Let’s say the house was on fire and I could only grab one thing…
No, scratch the hypothetical fire because my favorite might be too big to carry… this is a perfect example of my propensity to create a problem, which I then attempt to solve to my own satisfaction. Could I ever choose just one?
The answer turned out to be no. There were Two pieces chez moi that screamed louder than the rest. I discovered that it wasn’t a case of provenance, nor was it price, that ultimately spoke to me. It was how those pieces made me feel.
To enter Part Deux of the Two Maisons Giveaway, leave a comment about your own Two favorite antiques and a few words about how they make you feel.
Here are mine:
This oil on canvas fragment hangs above the landing of our stairway. It’s 7 feet tall but easy to roll and tuck under the arm in case of that proverbial fire. I bought it from a friend at the antique fair in Villeneuve les Avignon. I remember my gasp when I saw just the smallest corner with the blue color I can’t resist. I could melt into it. Really I could. If I had to pick one word to describe the feeling it evokes, it would be grace. I don’t know why.
This tiny framed 18th century gem grounds me. My view of time is somewhat unconventional and that includes the calendar. My calendar is roundish, a roundish rectangle. The months fall around this shape as on the face of a clock. July is at the top. May and September are on the shoulders. The mere mention of a month and my mind places it spatially before moving on. Not long ago when I started this blog I came across LeAnn’s gorgeous blog Linen and Lavender. She made a reference to her round calendar and I immediately emailed her recognizing a kindred spirit. Somehow this little solar calendar makes me feel like all is right with the world.
Ok, it’s your turn. Keeping with the theme I’ll select a winner in 7 days. Some lucky someone will receive this oh so French market basket, modeled after the traditional straw cabas, hand crafted in France with a patchwork of vintage hemp fabrics. Perfect for all of your summertime toting needs!
Susan, this is the most beautiful piece I have seen in a long time. What beautiful things you have. Your painted canvas is absolutely stunning. I did love the calendar but the books behind it really got my eye.
So interesting that you place months spatially. Recently, Lauren, of the blog Pure Style Home wrote about associating sound pitches and colors with letters and numbers. Your ’sense’ of the months having a particular place on a circle reminded me so much of that…so interesting.
Hmmm, my favorite antiques….I do so agree that it is not the monetary value of a thing, but how you feel/respond to it. I would say that my favorites are an old Wedgwood transferware plate, a gift from my mother, which had been in her family; and pocketwatch from my father’s family.
Thank you so much for the beautiful post and for urging me to look at my things with a new eye.
All my best to you, Donna
I love the solar calendar! I also love the way you described your feelings for your painting. You are a kindred spirit.
If I had a chance to carry out two antiques that I love . . .
I think the first would be: A painting my husband gave me years ago. It is of a young girl looking to the heavens and holding a cross in her hand.
The second: A lovely little French wedding display that holds a golden crown given to me by a dear friend.
Your pieces are lovely and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing them.
Nancy
PS I am adding you to my Wonderful Places to Visit
Hello Susan,
Your home is beautiful and your taste exquisite! I too, have a soft spot for blue…
Two antique treasures that I would risk life and limb for would include a large oil painting of my great grandmother in the 1870’s when she was a child…(supposedly I looked like her when I was a small girl) and a beautiful gold and pearl lariat that belonged to my great aunt and was passed down to me…
This was fun! Thanks for a chance to win your charming French market basket!
Your blog is lovely and I will be back to visit!
Take care,
Laura
That’s tough! Only two, hmmmmm, let’s see. Probably an oak bookcase that was originally used as lockers, complete with the brass labels.
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The other would be an old Doctor’s bag with the most beautiful floral fabric inside that was gifted to me by my best friend in the whole world. When I look at it I see it as a woman’s travel bag, probably in the early 1900’s, and of course she traveled by train. I’m sure it held all sorts of lovelies…..
Your blog is lovely, I look forward to reading more……
I come by way of my sister in law, Nancy from Fête et Fleur…j’aime bien votre blog….quel délice Madame! If I could only take two antiques it would be my French Wedding Globe Chair with six round mirrors and my lovely harp, crowned with a golden couronne! VOILÀ! May I enter your give-away? I love your style!!! Anita
Castles Crowns and Cottages
My goodness you have beautiful pieces to live with. It took some thought to decide what I should like to bring if there was a fire. I actually did have a small fire in my kitchen recently and it was only after the six weeks of clean-up that it occurred to me what could have been lost, if I hadn’t grabbed the extinguisher and put the darn thing out! First, the little cookbooks that I have been writing favourite recipes in for thirty years would be the first item and the second is a print, not an antique but a limited edition etching by a local artist of the old log bridge to the cottages I grew up visiting. My favourite place on earth. Not antiques, but precious indeed and daily appreciated.
Hi Anita, so glad you found your way here and of course you can enter the giveaway. I’m sorry your comment didn’t stick the first time For some reason my antivirus put it in spam. No worries, I retrieved it. ~Susan
Hello Dear. It has been awhile since I have been out in blog world. As usual, I’ve very much enjoyed catching up with you. Thank you for mentioning me/linen and lavender here. As we have talked about before, our tastes overlap, but what amazes me is how often I read or see something you’ve written that is something I was just thinking about. We are definitely on the same wavelength, my friend. A big hug from CA! ~LeAnn
Bonjour Susan,
Have been absent from my computer for a litle while as have recently moved in with my dear parents as father has needed some extra help and being the holidays here in England and desperate to keep busy i have obliged. During this time i have had withdrawel symptons from your Blog and sad not to have had the chance to participate in your last little Giveaway.So here i am and have no hesitation in knowing what i would take with me, a very recent family portrait that we had painted in sepia, so it looked old, something that we will all treasure as a family forever.
Thank you again for making me smile everytime i read or see something you have added.
Regards
Marie-Claire x
OK, My favorite, most treasured antique find would be my French Chinoiserie Fireplace, over mantle and firescreen I found and shipped back from an Antique Store in the Marais in 1999. There is a photo of it on my sidebar. It takes my breath away every time I see it. I knew when I first caught sight of it in the Paris shop window that I couldn’t live without it. It’s the jewel of my home. The best part is that my second favorite treasure is the amazing painting that sits above it surrounded by the overmantle. It was given to me by a good friend just before I left to go to Paris. I had no idea that it would eventually fit perfectly, not only in size but like it was made to go with it. They suit each other perfectly! I still marvel at how it all came to be! I did a post about it early in my blog archive, titled… My Chinoiserie Fireplace. It’s one of my favorite memories… one that lives on in my home and heart every day!!!
xo
Love your blog and am a french soul at heart!!! I love my antique french crown which I purchased at Puces de Vanves and my antique french linen sheet that I sleep under every night also purchased at Puces de Vanves. What a fabulous give away!!!
My very favorite piece is the handpainted buffet with the marble top. Just too, too beautiful and too, too large to rescue from a fire. The seconf would be the gold leaf framed mirror the rests on top of the buffet. Together they make a huge statement that makes me confident about my decorating tastes.
I love old antique wine bottles or wine vases as my grandfather always said. We have one in our family from Italy that came over with my great grand parents and it has the old map of Italy as the design. Also,I love old hand bags from long ago. I see them in antique shops and I wish I could afford them.
jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com
I must say that you have a gorgeous home in a stunning area of France! Oh to live there surrounded by all those antique shopping possibilities…
A hard choice but I would have to pick an Italian gesso fragment,it was probably was on the top of a mirror at one time.It has two wreaths with leaves and pods.The second piece would be a French oval mirror with two angels at the top..Thanks for your lovely blog…