Garden Find

[bigwull]

Hi guys...
I found this a couple of years ago,whilst digging in my garden,...and whilst i thought it looked great,my wife thought the opposite...so it ended up hidden away in my barn,...until now,i was searching for something else and re-discovered it...its as you can see a figurine,its 11in tall x 3in wide,it weighs 1269g
Its made of Spelter...or a poor mans bronze as its sometimes called, the figure itself is in good cond,but as you can see the base has a piece missing...this may have been when my spade hit it on the way in...but i never found the missing piece...but now that i,ve found it again,i,m going to restore it,

[wendy177]

All I find whilst digging in my garden are damn big rocks!!!

[bigwull]

All I find whilst digging in my garden are damn big rocks!!!

Oh! but I have them also...its raining outside at the moment,but tomorrow if its dry,i,ll take a pic of a pile of pebbles..big pebbles, that i have removed from my garden over the past 2 years...

[cogar]

An old farmer told me to never throw the smaller rocks out of your garden.

They are really important for "early" Spring planting ..... because they will absorb the daytime heat from the Sun ..... and thus will keep your plants and the soil "warm n' toasty" long into the chilly night times in early Spring.

[bbc-antiques.co.uk]

Hi it will be late 19th century spelter they were often relegated to gardens , try fixing with milliput epoxy putty its great for this type of repair regards Martin

[bigwull]

An old farmer told me to never throw the smaller rocks out of your garden.

They are really important for "early" Spring planting ..... because they will absorb the daytime heat from the Sun ..... and thus will keep your plants and the soil "warm n' toasty" long into the chilly night times in early Spring.

If your still in contact with that old farmer,tell him he can have this mound of large pebbles free of charge,...2 tons + from a garden measuring 16yds x 8yds....

[bigwull]

Hi it will be late 19th century spelter they were often relegated to gardens , try fixing with milliput epoxy putty its great for this type of repair regards Martin

Thanks Martin,I will do that and once done will post the finished result

[KevinM]

I wouldn't restore it fully. Maybe a light haired/bristled small paint brush to remove the loose dirt or at most warm water and the light haired paint brush.

Then perhaps restore the missing base part. I love that old look, couldn't find that old look on a naturally aged figurine piece if you wanted to.

Even better yet, get a metal detector and find the missing base piece and perhaps a lot of other stuff in your garden. Borrow or rent one if you have to.

The only other thing that came to mind while looking at the figurine it kind of reminded me of some of the figurines that I have seen in old grave yards. Cool and very local find. Just my 2 Spelters worth.

[bigwull]

Hi Kevin,
I shall take your advice,.....had you not come on an given it...i was of a mind,.".because my wife does,nt like it"as i was saying...before i sidetracked myself,..i was going to get it sand blasted...do I hear a screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O,coming over the airwaves....yes thats what i,d probably have done,just to keep her happy.but thanks to you,...she,ll never see it "restored"..so to speak....and if she ever says anything to me about it.....I,ll just say..."it was Kevin,s fault"...then she,ll be really confused because we don,t know any Kevin,s
thankyou again,
Wull

[KevinM]

Wull, you can blame that Kevin guy on the other side of the big pond, I don't mind!;)

If I wanted to make it look like a new piece I wouldn't have it sand blasted, I would just go to Kmart or the like and just buy one.

If I wanted an old piece I would just go out in my garden and dig one up that I had grown! It took many years to grow the look of that piece mind you.

In fact, that's an old trick or method to age a piece faster if someone wanted an older/aged look and feel of an item.

Kevin

[talesofthesevenseas]

How fun that must have been to uncover it! I would leave it out in the yard, (I love the aged metal) and put it on a small pedastle, then grow flowers all around it. I'd let the wind, rain and snow do their worst, it will only become more beautiful with age.

[bigwull]

When I first uncovered it, i thought all my birthdays had come at once,...... approx 1.5 miles from our cottage..there is the site of a Roman outpost...and because it had that "look"..i thought ,maybe,just maybe....but now that i,ve found it again...i will take Martin and Kevin,s advice.....and your,s and weather my wife like,s it or not...it will be displayed...and it,ll be all you three,s fault if i get it in the neck....LOL,

[KC]

Too-o-o-o cool!!!! 

 I found lots of rocks and built a great retaining wall out of it...edged the gardens, etc.

I'd try and find the other half too!    Have seen these in older gardens and graveyards!

[frogpatch]

If Kevin is right about graveyards I would not dig too deeply in that garden.  You may disturb someone who has also aged well from being buried

[bigwull]

Yeah then maybe i,ll have my own Walking Dead!!...this area where we live has an abundance of Bronze age burial sites and Pictish Stones,....and just last week,whilst contruction workers were preparing ground that is to be a new Cemetary...they uncovered a Bronze Age burial site that is being hailed as a significant find..see link...this area is 25 miles from where we stay,
link...
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/24560/construction-workers-make-the-find-of-ages-at-site-of-new-cemetery.html