So I am on my way to Langley (50 kms) so pick up a 4 piece collection of native art. For $60. Suspiciously cheap. But quite often my mental superiority complex causes me to underestimate the sanity of others! It is sunny today so the drive is much more pleasant than yesterday's to Chilliwack. The seller lives in the old but now run-down but still gorgeous former summer house of the Van Dusen's (those of the Van Dusen Gardens) on a hill with a view of the valley. What a view! Just imagine the view 100 years ago ;-)
What attracted my attention in the ad was a black square box with carved sides and a carved Orca lid. Not thinking of the material used until I hold the box in my hand, the first half hour on the way back I keep thinking "It's carved soapstone, this is unreal". Yup, that complex again mixed with immense ignorance on that steep learning curve at the beginning of a new hobby ;-) I am still delusional when crossing the New Port Mann bridge again (How much is the toll anyway?) but at least I am proving that it is possible to take decent pictures out of the sun roof of speeding car with a cell phone camera.
Back in Vancouver, I realize that I realize that I really have no idea what 3 of the 4 pieces are made of. Some black polished material that is too heavy for plastic but not heavy enough for soap stone. A sticker at the bottom of one piece (Pearlite Stonecraft) and a rather long internet search finally bring the answer: It is steel with concrete (or concrete with steel), and of course it is cast instead of carved (some eBay sellers actually advertise 'carved Pearlite', and naturally it is a reproduction. A brief moment of disappointment is followed by something like "Yeah, but it is still a beautiful box". This becomes more pronounced as I try to find a pearlite Orca or salmon box on eBay. Nothing. I find some less than beautiful Pearlite reproductions of Native art, and even a search of the entire internet does not find another box like mine. Seems I have a RARE reproduction, if that makes any sense. Relieved that my box won't stare at me from the display window of every tourist shop on the West Coast with a $20 price tag, I conclude that I found some nice pieces and learned a lesson for cheap.
What attracted my attention in the ad was a black square box with carved sides and a carved Orca lid. Not thinking of the material used until I hold the box in my hand, the first half hour on the way back I keep thinking "It's carved soapstone, this is unreal". Yup, that complex again mixed with immense ignorance on that steep learning curve at the beginning of a new hobby ;-) I am still delusional when crossing the New Port Mann bridge again (How much is the toll anyway?) but at least I am proving that it is possible to take decent pictures out of the sun roof of speeding car with a cell phone camera.
Back in Vancouver, I realize that I realize that I really have no idea what 3 of the 4 pieces are made of. Some black polished material that is too heavy for plastic but not heavy enough for soap stone. A sticker at the bottom of one piece (Pearlite Stonecraft) and a rather long internet search finally bring the answer: It is steel with concrete (or concrete with steel), and of course it is cast instead of carved (some eBay sellers actually advertise 'carved Pearlite', and naturally it is a reproduction. A brief moment of disappointment is followed by something like "Yeah, but it is still a beautiful box". This becomes more pronounced as I try to find a pearlite Orca or salmon box on eBay. Nothing. I find some less than beautiful Pearlite reproductions of Native art, and even a search of the entire internet does not find another box like mine. Seems I have a RARE reproduction, if that makes any sense. Relieved that my box won't stare at me from the display window of every tourist shop on the West Coast with a $20 price tag, I conclude that I found some nice pieces and learned a lesson for cheap.
No comments:
Post a Comment