No 8. For me ...... the Isle of Legs!!

Today I want to tell you about a true antique, 2 legs with a well-known coat of arms, and some more about Opium!!

Let’s start with Numbers 20 and 113 in my leg collection…Mmmm!! could be 6!! One of them comfortably fits my specifications to be included, being something that has a use and a function.    It is only the small size of the second one that raises the question does it qualify for inclusion. They both have the same background/origin, but the size of the second one puts it in my Jewellery classification, and it is only one of the 3 legs that do not have an actual function.

                            

Let’s start with the kosher one.  Some of my readers will have read about my old hobby of collecting Sugar Tongs and that when I stopped collecting tongs the proceeds from selling a large percentage produced the funds to start my leg collection. I kept the better tongs, especially those with good hallmarks, of a good age, or of an interesting style. And for some reason I kept back an EPNS pair, with the bowl being in the shape of the 3 legs of the Isle of Man coat of arms – the subject for to-day!!  

And, if the sugar tongs qualify, so does a silver plated 3-legged piece of jewellery!!

Just to digress, the tongs I disposed of were purchased by a lady jeweller who had a craft business making jewellery out of cutlery!!, mainly out of silver and my daughter bought one unique item  She told the jeweller that I had some silver sugar tongs that I wished to sell, and I took my for-sale stock to meet her at Attenborough gravel pits where we “did the deal”. As part of the deal the lady would make 2 identical necklaces for Mary and Sarah made from an attractively engraved pair of tongs, using each arm to create a silver ingot to hang on a chain. This picture best illustrates the end result and an unusual way to enjoy and wear a quality piece of silver, each part with a hallmark! The alternative future would probably have been a meltdown for scrap.

                            

So back to the surviving pair of tongs with the 3-legged emblem of the Isle of Man coat of arms.  The tongs are 3.1/2 inches long, are stamped EPNS. (Electro-plated-nickel-silver). There are cartouches on each arm, but too small for engraving. Otherwise, it is quite plain, but it can be used for holding lumps of sugar.

The history of the IOM legs can be traced back to the 13^th Century, and whilst this is not the occasion for a history lesson (which would be lengthy!), the legs are described as armoured (or mailed) enjoined at the thighs, pictorially running left to right, the heels have spurs, and on the full Isle of Man coat of arms, the arms are supported by Dexter (Peregrine Falcon) and Sinister (Raven).

I seldom look for legs on jewellery stands, but you never know, and it was at a Derby University antique fair in 2011 that £10 bought me this small Isle of Man silver charm. There is nothing to add to what I have said above about the IOM logo, mainly because there are no markings, but it is undoubtedly silver, and it would sit well on a silver charm bracelet.

 

This quality antique was bought at the NEC in April 2019. It is Victorian, made of Mahogany and called  a Page Turner.

 

It has been dated as 1870, so it is not surprising after 150 years that It has certainly served well as evidenced by the used condition. It is 10 inches long and tapers from the leg detail to a wafer-thin end.  The thin end is ideal for sliding between 2 sheets of paper in a book. I have known Page Turners to be c20 inches, but that size would be used specifically for turning newspaper pages, often in a library.

Whilst I suspect that the tip of the toes may have been broken some time ago  the Turner has bold carvings which are very pronounced. The 11 pairs of lace holes are indicative of the boots worn in Victorian times and in due course I will be writing about my collection of button hooks, which assist in tying the laces on shoes or boots. This leg is not a full leg and only reaches just above the calf, but the boot is well defined. There are some additional decorations above the boot which are perhaps from decorated stockings. All things considered, including the height of the heel I am convinced that this would be a lady’s leg!

 

Reverting to my blog No 6 last month I told you about my unusual wooden leg shaped Opium Pipe. I know I’m digressing, but I had an interesting development, which I thought I would share with you.

On 26^th April Mary and I went to an outdoor antique fair called Runway Monday, held near Newark and just a one-day event.  It was a new venue for me, and we were surprised not only by the number of stallholders, trading mainly out of the back of vans, but selling everything from a Sinclair C5 to Diamond rings.

I spotted an Opium Pipe on one stall, felt that my wooden version could do with a companion, so after some bartering paid just £12 for what was clearly a real antique. This prompted me to do some research on the unknown subject, to me!,  of opium smoking, and this is what I found.

 

I knew that Opium originated from a latex drawn from the Opium Poppy. But I had always assumed it was smoked!! Wrong.   The smoking of opium does not involve burning.. Opium is enjoyed by subjecting small quantities to heat so that active alkaloids, chiefly morphine, are vaporized. Smokers use an opium pipe which incorporates a small pipe-bowl connected to a long, cylindrical, and often very decorative stem. A small quantity of opium, about the size of a pea is placed in the pipe-bowl, and then subjected to heat. This is done by holding the bowl over an oil lamp designed to channel heat under the bowl. The smoker then inhales the vaporized opium through the mouthpiece. The number of peas heated in the bow at one time would depend on the users’ requirements.

Some variety for your enjoyment this week!

David