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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: bigwull on August 27, 2012, 09:20:35 am
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Hi guys...
I found this a couple of years ago,whilst digging in my garden,...and whilst i thought it looked great,my wife thought the opposite...so it ended up hidden away in my barn,...until now,i was searching for something else and re-discovered it...its as you can see a figurine,its 11in tall x 3in wide,it weighs 1269g
Its made of Spelter...or a poor mans bronze as its sometimes called, the figure itself is in good cond,but as you can see the base has a piece missing...this may have been when my spade hit it on the way in...but i never found the missing piece...but now that i,ve found it again,i,m going to restore it,
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All I find whilst digging in my garden are damn big rocks!!! :P
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All I find whilst digging in my garden are damn big rocks!!! :P
Oh! but I have them also...its raining outside at the moment,but tomorrow if its dry,i,ll take a pic of a pile of pebbles..big pebbles, that i have removed from my garden over the past 2 years...
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An old farmer told me to never throw the smaller rocks out of your garden.
They are really important for "early" Spring planting ..... because they will absorb the daytime heat from the Sun ..... and thus will keep your plants and the soil "warm n' toasty" long into the chilly night times in early Spring.
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Hi it will be late 19th century spelter they were often relegated to gardens , try fixing with milliput epoxy putty its great for this type of repair regards Martin
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An old farmer told me to never throw the smaller rocks out of your garden.
They are really important for "early" Spring planting ..... because they will absorb the daytime heat from the Sun ..... and thus will keep your plants and the soil "warm n' toasty" long into the chilly night times in early Spring.
If your still in contact with that old farmer,tell him he can have this mound of large pebbles free of charge,...2 tons + from a garden measuring 16yds x 8yds....
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Hi it will be late 19th century spelter they were often relegated to gardens , try fixing with milliput epoxy putty its great for this type of repair regards Martin
Thanks Martin,I will do that and once done will post the finished result
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I wouldn't restore it fully. Maybe a light haired/bristled small paint brush to remove the loose dirt or at most warm water and the light haired paint brush.
Then perhaps restore the missing base part. I love that old look, couldn't find that old look on a naturally aged figurine piece if you wanted to.
Even better yet, get a metal detector and find the missing base piece and perhaps a lot of other stuff in your garden. Borrow or rent one if you have to.
The only other thing that came to mind while looking at the figurine it kind of reminded me of some of the figurines that I have seen in old grave yards. Cool and very local find. Just my 2 Spelters worth. :)
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Hi Kevin,
I shall take your advice,.....had you not come on an given it...i was of a mind,.".because my wife does,nt like it"as i was saying...before i sidetracked myself,..i was going to get it sand blasted...do I hear a screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O,coming over the airwaves....yes thats what i,d probably have done,just to keep her happy.but thanks to you,...she,ll never see it "restored"..so to speak....and if she ever says anything to me about it.....I,ll just say..."it was Kevin,s fault"...then she,ll be really confused because we don,t know any Kevin,s
thankyou again,
Wull
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Wull, you can blame that Kevin guy on the other side of the big pond, I don't mind!;)
If I wanted to make it look like a new piece I wouldn't have it sand blasted, I would just go to Kmart or the like and just buy one.
If I wanted an old piece I would just go out in my garden and dig one up that I had grown! It took many years to grow the look of that piece mind you.:)
In fact, that's an old trick or method to age a piece faster if someone wanted an older/aged look and feel of an item.
Kevin
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How fun that must have been to uncover it! I would leave it out in the yard, (I love the aged metal) and put it on a small pedastle, then grow flowers all around it. I'd let the wind, rain and snow do their worst, it will only become more beautiful with age.
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When I first uncovered it, i thought all my birthdays had come at once,...... approx 1.5 miles from our cottage..there is the site of a Roman outpost...and because it had that "look"..i thought ,maybe,just maybe....but now that i,ve found it again...i will take Martin and Kevin,s advice.....and your,s and weather my wife like,s it or not...it will be displayed...and it,ll be all you three,s fault if i get it in the neck....LOL,
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Too-o-o-o cool!!!!
I found lots of rocks and built a great retaining wall out of it...edged the gardens, etc.
I'd try and find the other half too! Have seen these in older gardens and graveyards!
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If Kevin is right about graveyards I would not dig too deeply in that garden. You may disturb someone who has also aged well from being buried
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Yeah then maybe i,ll have my own Walking Dead!!...this area where we live has an abundance of Bronze age burial sites and Pictish Stones,....and just last week,whilst contruction workers were preparing ground that is to be a new Cemetary...they uncovered a Bronze Age burial site that is being hailed as a significant find..see link...this area is 25 miles from where we stay,
link...
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/24560/construction-workers-make-the-find-of-ages-at-site-of-new-cemetery.html
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And to think my son just spent some time 'over your way' only a few weeks ago! He was over for a three day course in Leeds so took advantage of the company paid flight and booked his vacation for the same time. Once his course was over and he'd had a chance to explore a bit of Leeds he hopped the train and headed for Edinburgh. As promised he sent me some lovely pictures and has plans to go back for a more extended trip someday. So if you dig up any more 'uglies' I'll get him to take them off your hands......and out of wifey's sight. ;)
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Thanks for posting the article! Interesting!
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Time to get yourself a metal detector!!!
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And to think my son just spent some time 'over your way' only a few weeks ago! He was over for a three day course in Leeds so took advantage of the company paid flight and booked his vacation for the same time. Once his course was over and he'd had a chance to explore a bit of Leeds he hopped the train and headed for Edinburgh. As promised he sent me some lovely pictures and has plans to go back for a more extended trip someday. So if you dig up any more 'uglies' I'll get him to take them off your hands......and out of wifey's sight. ;)
If your son was in Edinburgh over the past couple of weeks i,m sure he had a ball, this is the best time to visit Edinburgh,as the Festival and Fringe is on....its a shame I had,nt found this forum earlier....who knows, my wife and i could have given him a short tour of the Highlands......and a couple of Tins of his Ma,s favourite fish...John West,Red Salmon.... :).a well never mind!!
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Time to get yourself a metal detector!!!
No good to me I,m half Deaf!!....they don,t vibrate do they?...or am i thinking of something else!!
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And to think my son just spent some time 'over your way' only a few weeks ago! He was over for a three day course in Leeds so took advantage of the company paid flight and booked his vacation for the same time. Once his course was over and he'd had a chance to explore a bit of Leeds he hopped the train and headed for Edinburgh. As promised he sent me some lovely pictures and has plans to go back for a more extended trip someday. So if you dig up any more 'uglies' I'll get him to take them off your hands......and out of wifey's sight. ;)
If your son was in Edinburgh over the past couple of weeks i,m sure he had a ball, this is the best time to visit Edinburgh,as the Festival and Fringe is on....its a shame I had,nt found this forum earlier....who knows, my wife and i could have given him a short tour of the Highlands......and a couple of Tins of his Ma,s favourite fish...John West,Red Salmon.... :).a well never mind!!
He spent about four days in Edinburgh after a train ride up. Totally loved the architecture and spent his time just wandering around and shooting pictures for his mom. Then he flew to Dublin with the intention of heading for Galway, but was so taken with the city he just stayed right there. He met some lovely people in Edinburgh and felt quite at home. One elderly couple he chatted with apologized to him for the damp weather and he assured them it was no problem at all.......it was just like home. He's planning on a return trip or two, with more time to spend exploring.
Here's one of the shots he sent me knowing how much it resembled the 'old' part of Halifax........the part that didn't get blown to bits or torn down to build concrete and glass horrors.
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My Wife and I love Edinburgh,especially the old Town,this is up near the Castle...The Royal Mile runs from the Castle right down to Holyrood Palace and during the festival this street is jam packed with Street Performers and tourists,....
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Okay....here I'm zinging off into another subject...but talesof...do you or anyone recommend a certain kind/brand of metal detector? I have always wanted to get one. My in-laws used to go to parks/beaches and find LOTS of jewelry (3 diamond engagement rings).
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Over here in the UK,is the place to be for metal detecting...a hoard that was found in Staffordshire in 2009 was the largest in the UK,.see link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hoards_in_Britain#Anglo-Saxon_hoards
and up here in Scotland an enthusiast recently found a hoard,of gold coins with an estimated value of £1.5m
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I'd heard about that 2009 find .
That would put a wire brush up your kilt !
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I'd heard about that 2009 find .
That would put a wire brush up your kilt !
You leave my Kilt out of it!!!...anyway..there would,nt be enough room up there....LOL
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I can't make any recommendations, my metal detector is an old cheapy from Radio Shack! Technology has come a long way since I bought mine. It has one beep tone and can't tell the difference between a beer can and a diamond ring! So I dig up a lot of junk!
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I've had a lot of experience with metal detecting and have owned a few. I would say the best bang for your buck would be the Garrett Ace 250. I think it cost me about $200 or $250 New a few years back.
I'm sure it's much cheaper on ebay along with others that other people might recommend. Here's a picture of mine below.
Of course you could go way out on the limb for the best Whites or Garrett metal detectors and spend hundreds more.
P.S. Wull, I would kindly let you borrow mine but the shipping charges back and forth would cost way too much.:)
(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3980/dtr1.jpg)
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about 10 years ago i was at an auction...old habits die hard...and i got an ex M.O.D...mine detector.. that they had used post war..you know the type..the one with the muckle big head on it,and the earphones with the twisted cable...it came in a great big wooden crate...it cost me £2..and surprisingly it worked... i ended up selling it on ebay,.....
btw nice looking detector....Kevin.. ...
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I've got a friend that uses a couple pieces of bent #9 wire to
"witch" for buried coins, etc. He seems to have as much success
as everyone else. (But then again, he used to be able to listen to
KOMA from OK City on one of his tooth fillings. ::))
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I've got a friend that uses a couple pieces of bent #9 wire to
"witch" for buried coins, etc. He seems to have as much success
as everyone else. (But then again, he used to be able to listen to
KOMA from OK City on one of his tooth fillings. ::))
You guys are killing me (and my laptop) today ;)
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Okay....here I'm zinging off into another subject...but talesof...do you or anyone recommend a certain kind/brand of metal detector? I have always wanted to get one. My in-laws used to go to parks/beaches and find LOTS of jewelry (3 diamond engagement rings).
i would recommend whites or garretts metal detectors for good low to mid price detectors !! can get the pricey ones too but those are the ones i have used !! but they went in my divorce many moons ago !!
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I've got a friend that uses a couple pieces of bent #9 wire to
"witch" for buried coins, etc. He seems to have as much success
as everyone else. (But then again, he used to be able to listen to
KOMA from OK City on one of his tooth fillings. ::))
You guys are killing me (and my laptop) today ;)
No.No!..you tried to do that yourself with nearly spewing Pepsi all over it,.... :D