Lars Tharp: The Antiques Road Show

Photograph © Lars Tharp

This month, we welcomed one of the most popular and long-serving members of the Antiques Roadshow, Lars Tharp, as our speaker. With his unusual, Danish name it's no surprise that people are confused about how to spell it. His favourite misspelling appeared on a letter addressed to Mr Large Carp, which made us all laugh.

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!

Jonathan Briggs: Mistletoe Matters

Photograph © Jonathan Briggs

There was a feeling of warmth and friendship as 89 members and guests arrived at Linden House for our Christmas lunch. We were welcomed by seasonal music, played on the piano by Simon Bott, the Linden House manager. The hall was seasonally decorated in red and green and there were fresh, evergreen arrangements on the tables, made by committee members. Candles were lit, crackers were pulled and everyone was served a delicious Christmas meal.

 

Feeling replete and mellow after a glass of wine, the audience sat back to listen to the guest speaker, Jonathan Briggs, talking about mistletoe. He was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable expert on the subject and told us about the mysteries of mistletoe, illustrated by a presentation showing its cultivation and harvest. It is found growing widespread in the Midlands, as there are still many apple orchards here.The simplistic shape of the leaves and the white berries have sometimes inspired Art Nouveau artists; Lalique is a good example.

In the past, druids and pagans believed mistletoe to have magical properties involving life and fertility as well as healing powers, hence the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe!Although many viewed it suspiciously, perhaps because the plant grows parasitically upon apple and oak trees, the tradition of bringing mistletoe into the house at Christmas has continued.

Jonathan was thanked for his informative talk as were the Linden House staff for an excellent lunch which was enjoyed by all.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year!