Today was a very hot although lovely day at the shrine sale, full of friends and faces missed over the summer. The temperature forced us to be leisurely and it was fun to be open to exploring and not have an agenda or be on the hunt for anything in particular. That being said, like all days at any market, a theme usually emerges and today was no different. One of my personal obsession jumped out at me today and I did my best not get lured in, trying instead to take photos for you and pretend to collect instead of buy.
Remember these mirrors from John Derian in this post? The caption identifies them as nineteenth century, but I think they are more likely to be 1920-30s and were often used on shaving stands and dressing tables. I checked and the date on this tear sheet is 2002 – which should give you a sense of how long I have been holding on to it. Add to that the myriad of posts this summer showing old and etched mirrors in the bedrooms and bathrooms back at the Shore and that should give you a sense of the depth of my love for anything silvered and bevelled.
Well today was a mirror day at Tomioka Hachiman, starting with this beauty, with its heart shape scroll stand and bevelled edge. If you can ignore my point and shoot ruining the photo, the reflection gives such a great sense of what the market is like.
Next up was this tiny round and a small hanging shop mirror. I thought the circular shape would make a great counterpoint to the larger rectangle above.
And you know the rule of threes – I thought this smaller rectangle was just what was needed to complete a trio.
Along the way I found this frameless one compelling. It’s hard to see how pretty the chain and clips are, but take my word for it.
So what do you think I did? I was a good girl and bought only the first mirror – no way I could resist that scrolling stand – and I am waiting to see if the regret rolls in. There is always the chance I’ll be racing back there soon, hoping against hope, that the others are still unsold.
My trusty helper had a great day too, finding boxes of matchboxes to sort through. Unlike last time, no one bought the entire box out from under her! Some friends bought matchboxes too and we are thinking of having a shadowbox workshop sometime soon.
