Monthly Archives: November 2009

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a surprise!

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Lia and Bill feeding the turkeys

Lia and Bill feeding the turkeys

OK, we’re loading the van, preparing for the Morristown Armory Antiques Show this coming weekend, when Lia (my wife) calls me in the office and says “You’ve got to come down right away and see this!”. So I go downstairs to the driveway and guess what? Lia and Bill (my employee) are feeding five wild turkeys. I’ve lived on Long Island for over 30 years and I’ve never even seen one wild turkey, let alone five, so imagine my surprise! Nassau County is on Long Island and doesn’t have many wild animals. I’ve seen rabbits, raccoons, fox, one owl, various small birds and once a very large bird — a blue heron, but no deer or other large mammals. What is the meaning of their timing? Were they offering themselves for Thanksgiving dinner? We made a lot of jokes, but there’s no way I could do it.

Hey, lady! Any more bread?

Hey, lady! Any more bread?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. It’s a wonderful time to get together with family and friends and actually be thankful for all of our blessings. At this time of year, let us be especially thankful to all of our brave young men and women in the military who are in harm’s way around the world. May they all come home safely and soon!

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

Amazing antique gold discovery in the UK

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Terry Herbert with some of his discovery

Terry Herbert with some of his discovery

For 18 years, 55-year old Terry Herbert’s hobby was to use his metal detector to search for buried metal objects in the ground. On one recent, very special day, he asked permission of a farmer friend in Staffordshire, England, to search his land, and discovered the largest gold and silver treasure trove of Anglo-Saxon artifacts ever discovered. The approximately 1500 objects contain 11 pounds of gold and 5½ pounds of silver, and are believed to date from the 7th century. A government official has declared the find to be a treasure, which means that it belongs to the crown. However, Terry Herbert and the farmer will share in the value, to be determined by the British Museum, which is likely to be in the millions of dollars.

A few of the extraordinary items

A few of the extraordinary items

Ultimately museums will be allowed to bid on the objects, where they will be studied and displayed. The first display of a number of the items was held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, where the objects are being stored. Archaeologists can’t wait to get their hands on the objects for study. They are all war-related, including sword fittings, sword hilts and helmet sections. The quality of the craftsmanship is such that the objects are believed to have belonged to Saxon royalty, with many inlaid with semi-precious stones.

Some of the objects as found originally

Some of the objects as found originally

It’s likely that the history of this time period will be rewritten as a result of this unprecedented discovery.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com