Part 3 of My Wonderful Recent Mini Finds

This is also the last part of this particular topic; next week I am off to an all-day giant outdoor flea market some hours from here, with my younger daughter, and I hope to encounter more interesting finds there.

This, for me, was the piece de resistance! This little Tudor bench has 12, count 'em, 12 of Philip Aitken's miniature pewter pieces attached to it. I intend to un-stick them, as I have any number of settings they would go into.

My belief is that this was Mr. Aitken's display piece for shows. There is a large tankard, a small mug with a handle, two pitchers and two goblets, a ladle, chamber stick, plate with the New Brunswick provincial coat of arms on it (I also have one of these with the State of Maine coat of arms on it,) a knife, large candlestick (which is in need of straightening out), and a rough, woollen place mat. As I had been collecting his work on the secondary market, to find such a large trove of his pieces in one place made me feel as if I had won the lottery! Each piece has his mark stamped into it, so tiny you need a magnifying lens to see it clearly.

Perhaps some of these pieces will end up on M. Ramet's refectory table as part of a Tudor banquet some day....