LETTERS Have your say
Your Letters
This month’s haul includes a plea to help identify an intriguing game and memories of rabbit stew
I look forward each month to receiving my copy of Antique Collecting magazine and have subscribed for at least 35 years. I have inherited from my parents a mysterious old game that has been in storage for many years, but no-one seems to know what it is or where it came from. It consists of a wooden box (perhaps teak) with eight compartments housing some 50 engraved, mother-of-pearl counters made up variously of large and small circular and oblong shapes, along with seven fish counters measuring 5½cm in length. The decorations inside the box indicate that it could have come from India or somewhere in the Far East. Perhaps one of your readers might be able to shed some light on it? Geraldine Hultkrantz, Lidingö, Sweden, by email
Our star letter
receives a copy of Bulgari Treasures of Rome by Vincent Meylan worth £55. Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD or email magazine@ accartbooks.com
Left Is the game Far Eastern in origin?
Many thanks for the article on majolica in last month’s magazine (Flights of Fancy, August issue). I well remember a tureen in the shape of a rabbit that my grandmother used to serve rabbit stew in. I must admit I found the ceramic representation of the animal we were eating about as tasteless as the stew, but your insights into the makers and designers of the style really made me appreciate it all the more – although I am now a vegetarian. Frank Beaumont, by email
Above right Animal
tureens were a staple of the majolica repertoire
Right Gareth Floyd’s
(b.1937) Illustrations for Stig of the Dump went under the hammer at Ewbank’s Below left Two of the
seven mother-of-pearl counters, in the shape of fish
Interesting to hear in the recent magazine (Editor’s Welcome, August issue) of the resurgence of antique shops. We have two new ones that have opened in my home town since the start of the year. Even better, is a dedicated retailer devoted to vinyl records. Long may it continue. M. Frank-Roberts, by email
Be part of the conversation on Twitter and Instagram @antiquemag 38 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Star letter
What a trip down memory lane your feature on Stig of the Dump was (Top of the Lots, August issue). As a boy I read and re-read Clive King’s famous book. How I loved Barney and Stig and the adventures they had. I don’t ever remember it being on Jackanory, but I do remember the wonderful illustrations in the book and wishing I, too, could take part in the capers they showed. J. Johnson, Edinburgh, by email
Answers to the quiz on page 54
Q1 (a) Short musical fiddle. Q2 (b) A 19th-century firearm barrel. Q3 (d) Lion. Q4 All of them. Q5 (c) actually early 1840s. Q6 (a) An angel. Q7 (b) The word comes from the Hindi word paanch meaning five. Q8 (c) Timepieces. Q9 (a) Fabulous heraldic beasts. Q10. (a), (d), (e) and (h). Horses were ‘noble’ but too rounded (cows were more angular). If cows were drawn, they should be in a group of three. Sheep were fine as long as very woolly. Grey rocks were better than red at setting off green foliage. Luminal writer = William Turner (c) Chap’s tie = pastiche (b) To a brute = tabouret (d) Beryl whirls art = Strawberry Hill (a)
