Inspired By Oliver Hoare’s exhibition, ‘Every Object Tells A Story‘ this Summer I was reflecting on my own favourite objects. The Antiques I could never part with…

When our son was three he was hospitalised for three weeks with Meningitis. We ended up becoming bed partners in hospital. At his bedside, during his long hours of sleeping, I spent time trawling the internet for antiques and found this bust of the Greek stoic philosopher Chrysippus. I am anything but stoic, however it seemed appropriate at the time and is now like a beacon reminding me how lucky we were with his recovery.

Inside a beautiful mahogany case, exquisitely crafted with a sloping wavey glass facade sit the contents of a Gentleman’s collection of personal artefacts.

The contents are of no commercial value whatsoever, however there is something extraordinaraly intimate and powerful about these treasured yet worthless “objet trouve’. Eliza, Monty and I love spending time with the case, imagining the stories behind the pieces.

The replica of the Taj Mahal is another little jewel. I have resisted the temptation to clean its exceptionally grime encrusted case which is in stark contrast to the immaculately preseved alabaster of the model. The ginger jars I bought on a buying trip to China and have a similar depth to their surface having never seen a cloth in a hundred years. I adore the rudimentary repairs made with hand forged staples like Frankenstein’s monster. There are no apologies made for these obvious repairs. All of these items hold fond personal memories for me. Not unlike the Gentleman’s collection I spoke of earlier.

Charlotte and I bought these stools together in a vain attempt to stop the kids pulling the wash basin off the wall when they clean their teeth. They will forever be synonymous with Monty and Eliza, craning to get additional height as tiny tots to look in the bathroom mirror.

I have had these tiny feet for a million years. Perfectly proportioned copies of ancient Egyptian tootsies. The juxtaposition of the 19th century Grand Tour model of the Pantheon makes them look monumental in scale. Monty loves nothing more than to borrow this miniature alabaster relic to play with his toy soldiers.

After the loss of my last two small puppies in the Christies auction this little chap has gone a long way to fill the gap ! Small but perfectly formed , I adore him!