Lot 136:
Description
A large collection of decorative brass and copper metalware, comprising of cast brass horse brasses, figural ornaments, and domestic items. The horse brasses include individual pieces and examples mounted on black leather straps, featuring motifs such as horses, anchors, windmills, and a 1978 Year of the Horse commemorative. Several brasses bear cast lettering including Bickleigh Mill Farm, Garden of England, and the zodiac sign Virgo. The figural group includes a large cast brass model of an Asian water buffalo, a horse and cart model, two wading birds on circular bases, a Lincoln Imp figure, a bird in flight, and a pair of flintlock pistol style ornaments.
Domestic and novelty items within the lot include four etched brass stemware glasses, miniature teapots and kettles, a hand bell, a copper toned pitcher, and a large novelty key. Also included are three tubular brass objects and a four-draw terrestrial telescope. A novelty cast brass anvil is present, bearing the impressed text: THE BLACKSMITH’S ANVIL GRETNA GREEN OVER WHICH MARRIAGES WERE PERFORMED. The lot is completed by a stainless steel goblet, a group of silver-plated flatware including serving spoons, and small ceramic souvenir items featuring blue and white Dutch style decoration.
Condition report:
The items generally show heavy aged patina, surface tarnish, and rubbing consistent with mid-to-late 20th-century decorative use. The leather straps on the horse brasses appear dry with typical surface wear. One of the pistol ornaments appears to have a loose or detached component (photo 1). Visible surface scratching and small areas of oxidation are present on the brass buffalo (photo 7) and the brass telescope (photo 8). The silver-plated flatware shows surface scratching and some loss of plating to the highlights.
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