Patricia Hassey (Allard) Arts/Antiquities/Artifacts Broker

Friday, January 27, 2012

Patricia Hassey (Allard) Arts/Antiquities/Artifacts Broker: "Angel's....angel's...angel's...the older..the mor...

Patricia Hassey (Allard) Arts/Antiquities/Artifacts Broker: "Angel's....angel's...angel's...the older..the mor...: i have always been a fan..of the older..version's of angels..whether marble,stone,concrete..plaster...etc...but..my preference's always are ...

"Angel's....angel's...angel's...the older..the more unique..the better"

i have always been a fan..of the older..version's of angels..whether marble,stone,concrete..plaster...etc...but..my preference's always are to the pre 1920's..as they are much more unique..in design....from the many mfg's...that produce these specifically for church's..and the outer bldg's..some are from molds..of older..than 16th century that have been made to a mold..some and most pre 1920 are alway's hand painted.., gold gilded..and if your lucky you get the "glass eye's"..my favorite..so many pre 1900 are solid marble..not mable dust with a horrible mold mark line..(in essence..the dust..is older marble, crushed..added with a binding liquid and set in a mold..due to the essence of the dust..and the mold..to the cost..most still retain thier mold marks..and lines..which is easy to find..and really lucky is if you find..the last run of an angel...or statue..from one of the older mfg...that is iron,zinc..or the 'dreaded lead"..which was a common mold ..the angel is covered..last run..with a very thin sheeting of plaster..hand painted..and inside..you may be able to find the signature's of the worker's in the company..and date the mold was retired..those are quite a find..and were also found in the many church's i had worked with..the unfortunate..in my case was..learning that part too late..but live and learn...although i will never be a fan of the newer angels..as they are fiberglass..or fiberglass with a thin sheeting of plaster..the paint..is easy to see ..that its very generic..high gloss..basically a very "cheap look"..many dealers..not educated in the religious artifacts field..will try to pass off..newer statue's as old..its easy to tell, if you just take 10 min's to look...example..one day just walking down my street.yes there was an antique shop..athough i never ever ventured in these..in the front window was a pair..i looked..studied..and realized..exactly where it was purchased..as i dealt with the statuary firm..but what really bothered me..was the "lie"..of telling the customer..that the "pair" was 1870's..circa..when in fact..was made in 1997..right to the paint..but mostly...the original from that particular manufacterer of these..always..without any change..till the mfg..firm closed..had a signature..of only useing glass eye's..and real gold gilt..in just a particular part of the "flame of the torch"..(due to cost also)..it was sad to see that in a what i though was a reputible store...and more sad...as the composition of the statue was not in line with the time..the mfg..was producing them..then my hush hush..shock..to see..that the pair was selling higher..than an older "one" statue...my assumption..sadly was "any way to pay the rent"..and the "who would know" theory used by many in this field..and the field of antiquities..to sum up..its never ever a good idea to "lie" blatantly..about the item..if peice's are replaced..put that down..on your tickets..your customer's will always appreciate that, rather than the infamous freind , or company, that come to thier home..and happens amongst the piece..sets up a person..for an unnessasary..explaination..and to the shops..a loss of a customer..and possibly worse..a return based on misrepresentation....My standards are extremely high....i hated return's..i learned as i sold..and to me..saw no reason..to exaggerate an item..it is what it is.....truth is best..(my other pet peeve was always "relic's"..1st class...never could i beleive that..if it didnt..come directly out of an altar stone..where upon that i wouldn't sell..as is tradition to send back to diocese..but..have found that was not something i ever sold..i had..yes ..but.i had good teacher's..they were never sold, due to the "doublt" of them)...integrity.is paramount..in this field..always ask..many questions..its a good thing