Antique Cafe Forum

Factual Friday By Charlie Elphinstone Pub signs are supposed to catch your attention and draw you towards them. This pub sign we have in the shop immediately caught my attention due to it featuring a historical figure, Queen Anne. Queen Anne was born on the 6th of February 1665 under the reign of her uncle Charles II. She was 3rd in line to the throne, after her uncle’s death the crown passed to James VII then during the glorious revolution of 1688 it was passed to the joint monarchs Mary II and William III. The pair had no children so after the death of William III in 1702 Anne finally came to the throne. The coronation was held on the 23rd of April 1702 with her husband Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland becoming consort. During Prince George’s life Queen Anne fell pregnant 18 times however the children unfortunately would not be born alive or would die prematurely. By far the most famous thing that happened during Queen Anne’s reign was the “Act of Union”, on the 1st of may 1707 which joined Scotland and England together as “the kingdom of Great Britain”. Unfortunately on the 1st of August 1714 Anne’s life was cut short at the age of 49 due to gout, dropsy, a haemorrhage and a stroke. A bit of information about the sign itself: it was painted in 1975 by David Fisher. David painted over 400 pub signs during his life and painted murals on walls of service stations all across England. Queens head pub sign £495.00 https://www.strichenantiques.co.uk/product-page/queens-head-pub-sign

Factual Friday By Charlie Elphinstone Death masks, a macabre form of art but nevertheless interesting … Death masks have been around for thousands of years. These plaster or wax cast likenesses of a deceased individual have been used for all sorts of things . One reason would be to be placed inside the tomb of the deceased, this practice was used in ancient Egypt. Other uses of death masks include using them as an effigy during the funeral and using them to make statues of the deceased at a later date. Death masks of unknown people were kept in the hopes of identifying them at a later date and then this practice was replaced with post mortem photography. It wasn’t until the 1800s that death masks were valued by themselves and seen as a form of art. Interestingly one of the most expensive death masks ever sold belonged to Pharaoh Tutankhamun which sold for 2 million dollars at auction. Some famous people that had death masks made of them include Mary Queen of Scots, Napoleon Bonaparte, Michael Collins, John Dillinger, Sir Isaac Newton, Admiral Horatio Nelson, William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, Ludwig Van Beethoven, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. ‘Death Mask’ Vintage plaster sculpture by Scottish artist Rona Johnstone 1957. £185.00 H12” W8” Ref/14855 Check out my product! https://www.strichenantiques.co.uk/product-page/death-mask

Factual Friday By Charlie Elphinstone This medal came into the shop a few weeks ago and while it is only a reproduction I was amazed to see it and the story it represents. The “South Africa 1880 medal” or as it is commonly known as “the Zulu war medal” was given to everyone that served in a series of tribal wars in South Africa between the years 1877-1880. An event that happened during one of these wars was the Defence of Rorkes Drift, a mission station located in Natal, South Africa. In this battle there were 141 British soldiers, 11 colonial troops, 4 civilians and 100 members of the Natal Native Horse or the NNH for short. This small army was up against 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. During the battle the NNH fled leaving just over 150 people to defend the station. Despite this the British won the battle with just 17 killed and 15 wounded. 11 Victoria crosses were given to individual defenders after the victory. Famously in 1964 a film titled “Zulu” was made starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine and this film recreates the battle of Rorkes Drift. I highly recommend it if you like war or history films, despite some inaccuracies it gives you an insight into what happened. https://www.strichenantiques.co.uk/product-page/south-africa-general-service-medal