Jewel encrusted pen and keychain Bible

The gold pen has some tiny jewels and has been in my mom's family forever.  The bible keychain was given to me by a colleague at my very first job.

Indian Shoes and a Japanese Fish

Colored bottles are from the $ shop.  The pretty  shoes are made from heavy metal and are from India.  The one on the right has it's original pink color dating back from the early 1900s.  The white fish is Japanese and is too delicate.  It's made of glass and has lost it's fins.  The Ivory brooch in the shoe has lost it's clasp.

Doll Collection ... 2

Doll Collection .... 1

I keep the dolls hanging over the mirror on the dressing table.

Doggie Collection

My doggie collection.  The silver one is an ashtray.

Bottle Collection ... 6

Shelf holding tiny gifts from around the world

Pretty things on a tiny shelf in my bedroom.  There are four Chinese masks  on this shelf which were presented to me by a Chinese trader visiting the company I worked for more than 20 years ago.  They are very detailed and well made.  Also on the shelf is a wooden piece with a camel, herdsman and grass, this was given to me while we were in the Middle East.  Each piece is removeable.  Russian Doll on the lower shelf was a memento from friends after their visit to Russia. The tiny little elk on the same shelf is a  Christmas tree ornament from our visit to Alaska.  The dark wood bird-thing on the top shelf is from Indonesia from an Indonesian woman we used to know.  The Black penguin is a Christmas hanging ornament and was made by a colleague of mine.  Other bits picked up from Church bazaars.

Ceramic Boot

We bought this from our trip to Hong Kong

Bottle Collection ... 5

More from the collection.  The smaller they are, the prettier they look.

Bottle Collection ... 4

The Orchide bottle is like a flower about to open out.  The other two are from Avon Perfumes

Bottle Collection ... 3

One of my daughter's favorite perfumes is Organza.  So here are three pretty ladies in two sizes of the brand.

Bottle Collection .... 2

I love the looks of the blue bottle.  It has a golden dragon on it.  The green bottle is like a leaf and shaped like one.

Bottle Collection ... 1

I am an avid collector of perfume bottles and pretty vases.  The bottles  with the gold casing are from my mother. The blue bottle is really ancient.  Slim, sleek and feminine.

Spanish farmgirls

My daughter picked up these when travelling in Spain.

Wooden Bottle Holder

This beautiful piece was picked up in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.  The glass decanter was bought separately

Jam Jar

This is another item from my parents' house.  The lettering says: I C Hoffmann  Strawberry Jam and the lid also looks like it's an original.

Floral design Serving Dish

My daughter gave me this as a birthday gift and she bought it from an antiques shop in Toronto.  The back has markings that say: Victory - Salem China Co, USA.

Plate with brown design

Fortunately, I was able to salvage this from the dump heap that my mom had thrown it on after renovating a part of their house.  It has a crack and the rest of the set of 6 plates are no more.  I think this is either from Portugal or England.  The marking at the back has the imprint of a crown.

Elaborate designed wine keg

I just love the intricate work on this piece.  It is all wood and supposed to be a wine keg kept on a wooden stand.  It even has a removable cork at the upper end.  This was probably acquired at a Church bazaar and I think it is either English or Irish made.

Village Ashtray

We bought this pretty ashtray although we don't smoke.  The craftsmanship is beautiful. We picked it up from Bombay, India in 1995.

Avon's Flower Girl

Avon's pefumes might not be that great, but most of their their perfume bottles are a collector's delight.  I was lucky to find this at an antique shop for almost nothing.

Chinese Milkmen

We picked these up from Hong Kong when we were on holiday there in 1989.

Weasels on Tile

This is original tile-work by someone named W.Morgan in 1982.  We picked it up at a Church bazaar and the back of the tile-work has a label that says: "Kimberley Enterprises, In Original,  Torrance, California,USA

Steel Pins mold

This was won at a scrabble tournament.  It's pretty heavy and has moveable steel pins that you can mold to keep the impression.  You can see the imprint of my hand in this photograph.

Wooden mugs

Probably from Holland.  Bought at a garage sale.

Pretty little things

The wooden box wherein these tiny pieces are housed contained soaps that my daughter had given me on my birthday.  Makes a great little showcase for tiny pieces like these.  Most of these are from $ shops.

Petrol Lamp

This was picked up in an Arabic bazaar. The lower part is a container for petrol and it has a wick which can be lighted.  We use it only as decor.

El Caserio Model

This is the actual model for a proposed Chocolate Factory in Italy.  No idea if the factory was constructed or not.  The people proposing this were looking for people to finance the venture and were giving away this model to targeted individuals.  One such individual had no interest in being part of the venture and passed on the model to me because he found me admiring it. 

Spanish Doll

I really have no idea how my mother came in possession of this item.  It had been with her forever.  I think it was gifted to her by a family member and the origins are either Portuguese or Spanish.  It is definitely very old but well kept.  The entire doll is made out of fabric and the color on the fabric used for the face has discolored a bit.  The buttons on her breast look like very tiny coins.

Avon's White Bride

Can you believe this is a perfume bottle?  It still has some of the original perfume which of course does not smell anything like it did when this was given to me.  There is a lovely little story that goes with this piece.  A Palestinian girlfriend of mine was gifted this piece at her wedding by one of her aunts.  She in turn gifted it to me on my 3rd wedding anniversary.  So, whenever I see this piece I think of my friend Tagreed. 
The lower part from the waist down is glass, the top is made from plastic.  Truly beautiful and a very valued collective item.

Small Milk Jug

I don't know why, but I like the looks of this jug.  It has two lumberman chopping at trees.  We probably picked this up at some church bazaar or a garage sale.

Tureen with a newer lid

This piece was from my parents' house.  I think the lid was replaced with a new one because it's color is whiter than the color of the main tureen. 

Little pretty boys

These two little boys look so pretty.  We picked them up when holidaying in Bangkok. They are probably copies of  the genuine articles from England.

Iron wood carvings

You won't believe how heavy these guys are.  They lady at the church bazaar told me they are made from iron wood and that they were probably carved by Cubans.  Mystery. 

Red Greek Lamp

this lamp is amazingly beautiful. I have a red shade for it and it stands on a little stool covered in a red patterned scarf.  Pure beauty.  I bought it from one of the Greek community centres during their annual bazaars.

Little Boy with violin

This is a hand-painted and made in Canada.  The details are stunning.  Check out the little flask in the pocket.  I bought this piece at a church bazaar about 10 years ago.

Hand painted little guy

This is from one of the towns in Ontario, hand painted by an artist from the First Nations.  Acquired it at a garage sale.

Wood carvings from Jamaica

These were picked up by my daughter from a Church bazaar in Toronto.  She loved the craftsmanship.  The sides of both carvings have the words "No Problem" and they are pretty heavy.

Tiny boxes from my mom

I thought I would start off with the things my mother gave me before she passed away. Some of her stuff I specifically requested because they were familiar things when I was growing up. My mom thought they should be thrown on the rubbish heap and could not get over my request for letting me possess the faded little round lacquer box seen here. The soap box is also pretty old and she used to keep her rosary in it.

Introduction:

Birth of ATPA aka "Catalogue" of the lovely stuff  in our house


Today, June 6, 2010 is the start of a my new blog. I see so many pretty things around our house, things that I love looking at and appreciating every time I see them. Many of  our pieces have a long history and some are mysterious objects we have been acquiring at church bazars, garage sales and auctions in Toronto and nearabouts. For the last so many years I have stopped going to any of these sales because our house has now become too small to hold any more treasures. We have stuff behind glass cases all over our huge living room and many of the pretty things have found their way to our bedrooms, the den, the staircase, the corridors, the foyer, the bathrooms..... everywhere the eye wanders there are pretty things and pieces of history that I kinow of and probably more alluring history that I have no inkling about.

That's the beauty of antiques and lovely things that has passed through several ownerships. That's the beauty of pretty things around your house, things that were given as gifts from people you love or things you like around the house but for the love of everything holy, cannot remember the person(s) you got the gifts from in the first place. That's the beauty of pretty things around the house, that when you feel the need to feel melancholy, you can gaze at some of the items and recall the past. You just don't know who was handling them, admiring them, wondering about them. It's like a connection between you and fellow residents of planet earth, both living and dead. I love that connection I feel towards all those who handled these pretty things before I took possession of them.  Just imaging that there were people before me, people who gazed upon the same object I am gazing upon, and admired it as much as I am doing, makes me feel good.

So, my dear gentle readers of All Things Pretty Antique, I intend posting within this blog every now and then,  pics of some of the pretty things lying around our house and I will tell you how they came into our possession. Some of the stuff  we have is easily bought from $ shops, but you should have an eye for beauty and workmanship. Your not-so-humble scribe was blessed with these traits from birth.... if I may say so. hehehe.