2 minute read
ANTIQUES
Expert opinion
...From Chris Yeo, valuer at Clevedon Salerooms, curator of the Ken Stradling Collection in Bristol and expert on BBC Antiques Roadshow
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High wires? No. Take a stand
Question: when is a nail not a nail? Answer: when it is the life support for a priceless collection of antique porcelain. Whenever my time allows, my favourite pastime is exploring the collections of our historic houses. One I am sure you will know is Tyntesfield between Bristol and Clevedon. The lavish Gothic mansion –a mass of arches and pinnacles –was aggrandised on the profits of Peruvian bird droppings (the 19thcentury farmer’s fertiliser of choice) and is now in the care of the National Trust.
Whenever I visit I am reminded of a story once told me by one of the guides there. High up on the wall of the plush Victorian library there is an impressive display of colourful – and extremely valuable –17th-century Japanese porcelain plates. Known as Imari from the distinctive palette of blue, red and gold, they make a bold statement and would certainly get pulses racing if they ever came up for sale which, of course, they won’t. When the National Trust bought the house back in 2002 and started the mammoth job of cleaning the vast room they were shocked to discover that the plates, which must have been in place for at least 100 years, as well as being black with years of dirt, were kept in place by a long piece of twisted wire which was hanging from a single large nail hammered into the wall. How they had managed to stay in place for so long without the whole display crashing to the ground, heaven knows.
I am reminded of this story every time I come across a plate that has suffered the misfortune of having a metal hanger attached to the back of it. Truthfully these wretched things are torture for plates, sinking their vicious spring-loaded hooks into delicate porcelain rims and turning hairlines into dirty great cracks. How I long to release them from their bondage. So, my advice is to leave your walls for pictures and put your plate on a stand. ■ • clevedon-salerooms.com; @chrisyeo_antiques (Instagram)
Silver Beakers
