AUCTION DAY

I love auctions--it's not so much the acquiring, but rather how God will bless me today that excites me. You just never know if you are going to be successful with your bid and you just never know what God will simply drop in your lap. Today was a drop-in-your-lap day.

I was calmly watching the auction lots and seeing how the bidding was going (catching the rhythm of the day) when the auctioneer announced a pair of silver plated candlesticks, (I had not previewed the sticks and had assumed that they were 1920's--wrong!) he not only announced them, he stated that the sticks were hall marked MATTHEW BOULTON. Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) was one of England's most respected silver smiths of the late 18th/early 19th century. The bidding went something like this (remember it's over in seconds) 20..30..40..50..60 and then there was a lull and my hand shot up so fast and brought those puppies home. I guess that I was the only one paying attention and who knew who Matthew Boulton was--it pays to do your homework.

Here is a photo of a gorgeous set of 3 pairs of Matthew Boulton Sheffield candlesticks that I grabbed from 1stdibs.

Notice the hall mark on the bottom edge of the sticks? My pair is more neoclassical in form than these, but about the same size...I will be picking the sticks up tomorrow and will post photos then.

We also picked up a great pair of 1950's black lacquered bachelors chests........Please excuse the photo quality. These pieces are in very good condition and will only need to have their lacquer refreshed...when it comes to lacquer work, the cost of stripping and re-lacquering is almost prohibitive; so it's important to buy pieces that are in reasonably good condition. These are very well constructed case pieces; the Drexel signature is faint which may be one reason their price point was still reasonable. I love the excellent brass chinoiserie hardware and the fact that the chests actually have a brushing slide.

Here are a few (bad) shots of the chests

   

I like to have at least two pairs of black lacquered chests in inventory. (I sold the black lacquered Mastercraft chest 2 days after putting her into the shop--maybe that will happen with these guys?) My new lacquer artisan is picking them up tomorrow and they'll probably be back in a week or so.

Mia and Grace arrived in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday and James arrived on Tuesday to spend a few days with The Girls. Mia was so excited when she saw James as the airport.......

And here she is at the beach....so hard to believe that she has had two extensive brain surgeries in the last two months---answered prayers. Thank you so much.

Hope everyone has a wonderful almost end-of-summer week-end.

Be well.

Mary & Jones (and Cole)