Saturday 5 July 2008

lelephant mine

It was a purchase I couldn't resist in a gymnasium filled with booths - old coins, pull-along toys, boxed Barbies galore, all sorts of odds and ends. I strolled through the indoor antique fair and was finally pulled to a corner, where a man turned it over in his hands and gave me a history. He'd found it in India, he said, and brought it back.

It's been a bookend, a place to hide rent money, a ring-holder, a cherished conversation-piece and the place to find stamps and paper clips.



It is a very old wooden elephant, hinged and on wheels. I have been told it was made as a cosmetic pot, but it seems more likely to me to be a toy or a sweet hidey-hole.

Whatever it is, I love it. It makes me smile, and I stroke it with a finger whenever I go by.

And I can't wait for my kids to be just a little older so it can come down off the high shelf it lives on.

I want to show them the small compartment in its' belly and the cunning wheels and talk about the uplifted lucky trunk and let them choose what Mama's lelephant should harbour next.

And I can't wait to find out.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh how neat! So many possibilities... And, when the children grow up, so many stories to tell their own children.

kimmyk said...

very cool treasure indeed!

Ricki said...

Ok, now THAT is COOL! You have good taste ;)

Unknown said...

wow, that's such a gorgeous item!

Anonymous said...

As my Grammie would say "Ain't it cunning?"

Away2me (Deanna) said...

Very cool. I have quite a few elephant things. Frogs too, I think frogs are my favorite. I only purchase pieces that are neat or unique, not just things to have. Your new find is definitely a must have!

Woman in a Window said...

Lucky you! I love walking around antique fairs slowly and taking things in. And stories...stories will sell things every time!

Anonymous said...

Elephants are my favorite animal. When I was in kindergarten, we studied the alphabet by letter and we had to bring something in for each letter. When we got to "L", I told my mom I was going to bring in Elsie, my stuffed elephant. She told me I had to bring that in on "E" day. "No, Mommy!" I said. "It's LLLLL for LLLLLephant!" I was insistent.

Glad to see you spelled it right.

Joke said...

Score!

-J.

Chantal said...

oh so cool. My grandmother (long gone) loved elephants with upturned trunks and collected them on her world travels. Gee I wonder where they are now...

kittenpie said...

Oooh, I love goodies with a story.

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