What attracts us to an item?

My first blog post connects my life as a musician and a long-time collector.

I found this lovely, early carved walnut panel in John Gilbert’s treasure trove of a shop in Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire. Well worth a visit.

This carving dates from the nineteenth century. It reveals superb quality hand tooled work, as well as idiosyncrasies in the lack of symmetry, typical of hand worked pieces. You can see the little tool marks on the background surface - how do you go about turning a flat block of wood into something so alive and three-dimensional? That’s the talent of the woodworker.

The subject matter with an early stringed instrument, flute, tambourine and notes on the stave is tantalising - was this carved for a musician, or was it meant to decorate a music room, was the person who made it also a musician?

We can connect with people who came before us by exploring what is left behind, it might be a lovely object like this or a piece of music by Beethoven. Our imaginations are fired. Who else has looked at this? Where has it been in those intervening years?

Curiosity about previous lives and an appreciation of often disappearing skills, crafts and quality, draws me to many of my most treasured items and my favourite pieces of music.