Hello everyone – trust you’re all well ? One of my preferred ‘sales pitches’ when walking the floor of our emporium down here at the Pantiles Arcade is to espouse our preference for keeping items which we sell ‘in circulation’, as it were. This is quite contrary to the once-held consensus that antiques should be stored away in glass fronted cabinets and regarded in awe from a safe distance, consigned to redundancy, shrouded in a growing accumulation of dust and dead flies. ScottishAntiques.com have never ascribed to this reverential approach, and much prefer to hear that customers intend to put their new acquisitions to good use once liberated from our display cases, breathing some new life in to pieces which may have previously lain dormant for decades. Clearly when glasses, dining services, candlesticks, stilton cheese scoops and the like were produced, they were intended for immediate and vigorous employment, and if they’ve survived the rough and tumble of day to day use then why on earth should they now be destined for an undignified retirement, sullen and inanimate on a velvet cushion ? Pleasingly, we do occasionally come across other enthusiasts who share our somewhat alternative view of more purposefully extending the life expectancy of artefacts, some of whom come from unexpected backgrounds - and who take our lust for revivescence to new levels. We’ve recently been fortunate enough to have attracted the attention of a film production company who are intent on producing an ‘epic’ movie exploring the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. One of their researchers gave us a call and expressed an interest in numerous pieces of period glass and porcelain which we had available. Down came the gentleman in question to spend an afternoon poring studiously over any number of different bits and pieces, before shuffling off with nothing more than a complementary book in his hand. Fair enough, we thought, diligent research looking at original articles which will presumably lead to replicas being produced by 3D printing or some other technical wizardry – but we were glad to be of assistance nonetheless. Imagine our surprise a few days later when an order turned up, for dozens of the original pieces which were all going to be used on the film set – talk about being sticklers for authenticity ! I wonder if it would even be possible to differentiate between genuine and reproduction pieces on film – a futile pursuit to try and make the distinction for Mr Kermode and his eager chums in this instance… I have resolved to give the cinematic saga the once-over on release, as not only will I be able to impress folk with the knowledge that the characters are using – for instance – period Liégeoise fraise wine glasses, but that they were once our very own period Liégeoise fraise wine glasses – part of our extensive collection of genuine wares at ScottishAntiques.com. Still, more power to the producers’ collective elbows, as long as Wellington’s army don’t burst in on the Emperor’s soiree and upturn the dining table in the climactic scenes – I’ll be properly cringing at any breakages!
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