Gifts and Collectibles #3of8

In Dinan, France, we found a brass bell a little different than others we have. This is intended to sit on a desk, to be rung to get someone’s attention. The 4 inch diameter bell is positioned like an umbrella, a few inches above a round base. There is a spring-loaded “hammer” that when depressed and let go, strikes the bell. In our house, that either means dinner is ready, or Granddaughter Christiana is visiting.

We have heard a lot about enameled porcelain pictures, and in Limoges, France, Emmy saw one she liked. She went into the store three or four times to look and consider, but when she had made up her mind to buy, they had made up their mind to close for lunch. We had our lunch near the river then came back and bought the picture. It is a 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch picture of a forest scene with a small brook, in a very nice 10 inch by 12 inch frame. In Agrigento, Italy (Sicily), at one place they displayed two items of French Limoges enamelware, made in the 1100s.

In Wetzlar, Germany, Emmy’s Cousin Gerd took us to the Sunday flea market, and would you believe it, Emmy acquired another brass pot. The pot is 7 1/2 inches in diameter at the top, and about 9 1/2 inches in the middle. It sits on three brass legs, and the 6 inch solid brass hoop-like handle, almost weighs as much as the rest of the pot. It is decorated with embossed or engraved detail. I found a set of six table forks that were not only nice, and much cheaper to buy, but were easier to carry than a brass pot. Well, they were not too nice, as the table forks rusted and were thrown away, but the pot continues on display.

In Toledo, Spain, Emmy liked the steel plates and other objects, that have 22 and 24 carat gold hammered into a design. Some are very expensive, but the 5 1/2 inch plate we bought didn’t cost too much, but we don’t remember how much we paid. For my mother, we bought a small decorative “pin,” made with hammered gold and silver.

In Carcassonne, France, we saw the antique store where Emmy bought that copper coffee pot several years earlier. After we stopped for a Coke and ice cream at an outside cafe, Emmy did find another little brass object she couldn’t resist. It is a 4 inch round, 2 inch high box with a lid, all woven of alternating 1/2 inch wide brass and copper strips.