I went to the auction, and I got the African screen and the coat. The screen (it's not really a screen, but I don't know what else to call it) had been on a recent cover of Elle Decor magazine. It's about 5' by 4', maybe a little larger, with a heavy carved wooden frame. The middle is an open wrought iron grid of rectangles with two animals (mostly leaping and running gazelles, a man, a stork, a skinny elephant...) in each rectangle, and spearhead dangles. It has a very handcrafted look. I LOVE it! I don't have the faintest idea where I'll use it. Maybe I'll hang it on the wall in a bathroom? I want to put it somewhere that I can see it almost every day.
Just before the auction started, I took a second very critical look at the coat. The lining was loose at the bottom, so I was able to inspect the insides of the skins. They are in excellent condition. The mink and fox furs are clean, not discolored anywhere. The hairs are tight and not brittle. It smells good, no chemical or musty odor. The only thing I could find wrong with it is that the lining is stained and should be replaced. The bottom of the lining looks like it got wet, but when I looked at the bottom of the skins, they showed no evidence of ever having gotten wet. The stained lining is the only reason I can think of that only one other person bid on it, and dropped out quickly. I got it for $350!
Well, maybe everybody else, when they saw how great it looked on me, realized that it was meant to be mine, and agreed to allow me to have it! It sure felt like that.
Note: I don't comment on the news much, not because I'm not aware of what's happening, and not because I don't care, but because ... well ... I have nothing to add, really. It's all been said, pretty much what I would say, and better than I could say it. Consider it said.
No comments:
Post a Comment