Friday, August 14, 2009

family friends

Family friends, heirlooms, paintings and rugs
A family keepsake, a painting of a little boy passed to each generation as a souvenir.  He watches my every move and serves as a reminder, a memento of sorts to cherish.  Like a friend, he needs attention and thoughtfulness in order to continue on his heirloom journey.  I think of this boy and wonder about his friends, his family and the original owner and artist who painted this family gem.  
Do you have any antiques from family that have been handed down to love, honor and to cherish like best friends.  

15 comments:

Debra said...

What a special portrait of a dear boy. It's nice to have a special someone watching over us- or a sweet lighthouse to quide us through lifes gale winds. I have many treasures passed down from family-and I look forward to gifting them to loved ones. One special small photo of my Mother's mother who passed away when my Mom was only 4. Very nice post PvE.

pve design said...

Debra,
I often think of those that have found themselves in a natural disaster and have lost all the family friends that they collected along the way. I find it fascinating that some items are abandoned souls.
pve

jae said...

yes. many. i have the round table that we ate meals at growing up in my entry. i have twin antique four poster beds that my kids each sleep in now. i have a set of stone urns that were in the yard of the old house i grew up in.....that is until i took them. i really like the mix of old and new....vintage and modern...i feel lucky to have such meaningful pieces.

home before dark said...

I have the desk where my husband's grandmother wrote the poetry that helped her keep her sanity after her beloved first daughter died suddenly of meningitis. I have her words in longhand that always makes me grasp for air when I read them. All of the chairs in my living room came from three generations. They sit like ghosts of our family and remind us of our past. And I have a secretary that my husband's great uncle had made from three panels of a French cathedral that had been bombed during World War I. The uncle, our family's Great Gatsby, was an amazing example of America in action at the turn of the 19th century. A cautionary tale, but still he intrigues.

Joyce said...

I have a lot of wonderful things passed down from family and friends that I treasure. I have an antique handpainted light fixture that came out of our home growing up. Growing up I would wonder how many families before us, this light shined on or was kept lit to welcome them home.

I have a church pew that wasn't passed down, but purchased at a estate sale. I like to think and sit on it, wondering how many people sat on this pew on Sundays, for happy and sad occasions. The secrets this little wooden piece holds.

Have a golden weekend! xoxo

Unknown said...

I have very few things, some pieces of jewelery my grandmother passed on to me, but many things are back with my parents, I love to see them, when I am there.
I feel it often, that we are far from where we come from and it's sometimes hard to realize how much life we live apart from each other, but my memories are my most cherished possesions....
Maybe that's the reason for me loving all the old houses of people long gone, all the old pieces, used by generations...
I love that portrait of the boy, it is so gentle, enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

One of the nicest material things I have is an all white, unglazed, Italian-made statue of a mother and two children on a large oval pedestal. The seated mother and oldest child are clothed in simple draped sheaths, and the youngest child is naked. It's a very Old World scene, though I think the statue is only about 100 years old. It was given to my great grandmother by a family she worked for. She had helped in the house with cooking, cleaning, and had cared for the aging matriarch until the woman passed away. At that point Grandma V lost her job. But in gratitude for the good care she gave their mother, the family allowed Grandma to choose something from the house to take with her. She chose this statue. Oh, it's just so beautiful! I'll have to send you a photo one day.

On the other end of the spectrum, one of my most beloved things is a piece of wood, 2ft.long x 1.5inch wide, smoothed and bleached out by sun and water. My grandparents used it for years to lie across the opening of their clothes washer. It propped the washing machine's lid open just enough to keep it from getting musty inside. I use it for the same purpose now in my own laundry room. My poor husband, thinking it was just an old piece of wood, was using it last year to break up salt for the water softener. When I caught him I almost bit his head off! Now he knows that humble piece of wood resides in my heart, and he keeps his hands off of it.

I also have the screen doors from my childhood home and my grandparent's home (both built in the 1940's). The view through and sounds of those screen doors slamming endure in my memories, and I just had to possess those doors forever.

Kalee said...

What a treasure!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

He's wonderful. Reminds me of Paul McCartney somehow.

I often wonder about the previous owners of the antiques in my house. And as an only child I wonder what I will do with my mother's housefull of family heirlooms when that time comes. It's a bit of a worry.

Kwana said...

He's lovely. I have photos that I cherish and a scale from my uncle. It's wonderful that you have him.

Prairie Girl Studio said...

most definitely ~ our home is adorned with various family pieces that have sentimental value and gently remind us were are surrounded by love ... my father's grain sample scale sits on the mantle ... my husband's grandfather's curling sweater has a special spot ... my mother's childhood portrait ... oodles of photos ... our children's artwork ... and i also have some vintage portraits of people displayed that i don't even know, but i like that they are a part of us as i know someone would want them to be ...
xo
prairiegirl

Melissa Blake said...

What a nice treasure for your family! I love the photo!

Mrs. Limestone said...

I just love this! You can almost spend all day imagining what that little boy's life was like.

North of 25A said...

I have very few things that belong to my family - something I will definately have changed for my children. I do have an old secretary that belonged to my mother. It is a lovely piece, but I had it refinished and I was disappointed to find that when it was returned to me it no longer smelled like my mother (she smoked) and although it sounds a little gross it was familiar and I miss the "scent" of Benson & Hedges 100's.

Things That Inspire said...

I sometimes wonder that too, about old portraits, particularly ones of children. Whenever I make a trip to the National Portrait Gallery in London, I will read the placards, and think about the people whose images live on through the artist's creation.