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| Photograph © Lars Tharp |
The ceramics and oriental specialist explained about his love of antiques, how he is enthralled by the shapes, designs and colours of the items brought to his attention by members of the public and that having physical contact with the objects helps him to generate an empathy with the makers. The action of handling the antiques, in order to closely examine
possible identification markings, introduces and element of excitement
for both the owner and Lars himself.
Queues at the Roadshow are often very long and Lars is amazed at the length
of time that many people are prepared to wait before their objects are
seen and valued. As there are so many fakes on the market, this can
often lead to disappointment but occasionally, a treasure is found and
many of these end up in museums for safe keeping.
Lars told us that he is an admirer of William Hogarth, the English painter and
engraver, and has studied many of his prints and pictures in detail
as a hobby. We learned that Hogarth was effectively a reporter in his day with his
pictures and cartoons showing images of everyday household events. Lars is also particularly interested in designs by Picasso, one of which
is shown in the above photograph.
Lars was thanked for not only entertaining us but also
showing slides of interesting and decorative items and for explaining
how it all began with ancient man discovering patterns and shapes
before discovering uses for what he found or made. After
his fascinating talk, we all left intending to look more closely at
items in our own homes, with the hope that we can find something to
take to the next local Roadshow!
