This past Sunday, CC and I went to the Aberfoyle Antique Market. We went down early in the morning and it was bright and sunny with a pleasant coolness that made wandering around the grounds perfect. I had seen a couple of white metal Art Nouveau pieces and some Cornish ware on previous visits and was in the mood for some shopping therapy. The Art Nouveau pieces were gone and the booth that sells the Cornish ware was closed, but we had a good look around the whole place and made some purchases.
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| Manhattan glass cream and sugar set |
Firstly, I found a booth that had a Manhattan glass cream and sugar for only $15! I already have a Manhattan vase and a couple of candle holders and always check out the one booth that sells lots of Manhattan, but they are pricier than I like. Even though we have an abundance of cream and sugar sets in all sorts of materials and styles, I thought the sugar bowl would make a nice little vase for cut flowers.
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| Late 1800's Ironstone plate |
Inside one of the barns, they were having a sale for 30% off everything inside. I found a black and white ironstone dish with a neoclassical motif. We already have quite a lot of blue and white pottery so I was drawn to the black and white. It has a nice weight to it and CC has already gone out and found a plate hanger for it, so it's up on the wall in our bedroom, above some black and white prints. Not bad for $45.
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| Imari birthday present |
While I was buying the plate, CC came across a booth that was just putting out some items, including a beautiful Imari dish. He bought it on the sly for my upcoming birthday as it had small rabbits on it (I'm a year of the rabbit, doncha know!). Of course, he showed me soon after and it was a steal for $20! We have bought other Imari pieces this year at considerably higher prices, and the few pieces we have seen at Aberfoyle always run into the hundreds of dollars, so not bad.
At a stall that always has interesting art, I saw a painting that I have admired over numerous visits and asked the vendor what he was selling it for. He said that he had sold other pieces by the same artist on eBay for close to $300 but was willing to let this one go for $150. I said I was just curious and wasn't going to buy it today. He told me that if I took it today, he would sell it to me for $100! Well, I couldn't pass that up now could I? It is by an artist named Mary Gold (?) and is very reminiscent of Cezanne in terms of brush strokes (brighter colours though) and was completed in '77 (presumably 1977). It needs to be reframed as it is quite out of date, but it is a lovely piece nonetheless and I can't wait to hang it with all of my other Canadian, female painters' works.
While, we were in that stall, CC saw a small, framed postcard of Rose of Sharons that tickled his fancy and he got it for a mere $5.
On the way out of the area, we had a quick look at the tables set up near the parking lot and CC found a cut-glass bud vase with a sterling silver base. Originally, he was going to buy it for a friend of ours, but once he got it home and cleaned it up, he decided to keep it - it now sits on our chest of drawers. It was only $20!
This Saturday is the big sale at Aberfoyle and we are returning, along with another couple, to see what strikes our fancy this time...
