Dubbo has only one antique shop, and the surrounding villages are too small to support anything more than a garage and a local store, so One is not in the heart of an antique trail. However, I did come away with some surprising little finds from the antique store, which is run by a very pleasant lady.
The store is a very large barn with a eclectic range of furniture and wares ranging from militaria and old tools to Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, and Sevres.
Like most antique stores in NZ, the furniture is mainly Victorian colonial furniture, with very little Georgian furniture and quite a lot of Edwardian reproduction pieces.
Below: The jangling constellation of bric a brac.
One quite exciting find was a Diamond Jubilee Medal for Queen Victoria (above).
another was a small Sevres styled box (below).
One quite alarming find was this very kitsch 'coral reef' lamp...
The pieces I bought, however, were a set a lovely framed hand-coloured Georgian etchings, depicting various social scenes:
Without my proper camera with a polarising filter the reflection on the glass made it hard to photograph them, but here they are...
Above: Roll call at Eton College
Below: Surry collegians tossing a lawyer
Above: A group of Oxford dons pronouncing the sentence of Rustication (being sent down/expelled)
Below: A social gathering in the Broad Walk meadows of Christ Church College, Oxford.
Above: Artists of the Royal Academy at Somerset House
Below: A ball in London's Mansion House
They certainly brighten up the flat. I also bought a large blue Wedgwood Jasperware bowl, to match one we have at home in the collection. I am hoping when we go back to London this year to find some large Wedgwood items, a few statement pieces around which to arrange the smaller pieces in our collection.
Otherwise life in Dubbo ticks by slowly. I fill in some of my time by going to the local gym, where I have just signed up to a 15 week challenge to try to put on weight and bulk up a bit (don't fear dear readers, I have no intention of embarrassing myself by subjecting you to any photos). I am also looking forward to Peter coming over to visit in 3 weeks. He is here for one night only for a cocktail party we are throwing; and then the next day we are both flying to Penang for a well deserved holiday. You will be pleased to know that his hand is healing well after surgery, although he is now going through the painful process of tendon physio and rehab.
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Ohhhh I love it. A town doesn't have to be big to have an interesting antiqes shop. Every time an elderly person passes away, the children or grandchildren have to clear the house of decades and decades of treasures.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose you will find an original Rembrandt painting in Dubbo, but you have already located lovely porcelain, silver and treen smalls, plus fascinating furniture.