Tuesday 15 July 2014

Dragon hoard

 
It is quite extraordinary, the things that one forgets about, when they are out of sight.
 
 
 This is a pair of book-covers. The front on the right, the back on the left. They are made of two metals, and the Dragons had been gilded.
I found them, when out on a walk close to a nearby village. I had skirted around the edge of a field which had been used as a junk yard, in time gone by. The glint of metal in the sun had caught my eye, so I crouched down to look , and saw a piece of metal with a Dragon on it. Gently pulling it from the earth, two pieces came away together. I assumed, at first, that they were picture frames. What an exiting find! Once home, I cleaned them up, and propped them up on my dressing table. I was about thirteen or fourteen.
A friend of my parents was a seller of antique and vintage books. When the Dragon find was mentioned, he looked at them, and was very interested, explaining what they really are. He even offered to sell them for me. I was more interested in the frames than the money.
When I got married ( 1979), I packed them up carefully, and took them off to my new home. They have remained packed, as I kept my treasures safe through building work and house moves, and more building work.
 
                                                       ( Detail of lower front)

It was a lovely surprise to come across this treasure, during the course of my major clear out. Amusing too, to know that my Dragon obsession is rooted in my childhood.

( I knew the owner of the land mentioned above. I also showed him the Dragons. He had no interest in them, and told me to keep them if they pleased me).

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