Antique Shopping

During my recent trip to Santa Cruz, California over the Thanksgiving weekend, my grandson Chris and I went to a few antique shops.

Let me first say this and get it out of the way.....You really get a sense of how old you've gotten when you find a lot of things that you remember seeing in your home when you were growing up, that are now being labeled as "antiques."

Our first stop was at Edward and Sons Antiques on Soquel Drive.  We got quite a bit of a history lesson from the proprietor.  Now this shop is definitely NOT a "trash to treasure" establishment like so many others are.  I recognized 2 religious icons there, similar to what I've studied in Art History. 

In my Art History class, I was intrigued by the following icon:

 

 

 

This icon is called Christ Pantocrator.  It is an encaustic painting, or hot wax painting using beeswax with colored pigments then applied on wood.  This particular piece can be found in St. Catherine's Monastery in Mount Sinai.  It was one of the first images of Christ and is one of the most widely used images of Orthodox Christianity. 

 

You will note that the image represents Christ's two natures.  The left side represents Jesus, the man fully human, with his right hand raised in blessing.  The right side of this icon represents God.  He is holding a bible with the cross on it which usually signified the Gospels.  The Gospels told of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, ergo, the right side of the icon is God, the spiritual being.

 

Anyway, getting back to this antique shop, we also saw some early wedge wood pottery, some unusual pieces of jade and many other wonderful items. 

 

Our next stop was a more typical antique store filled with trash to treasure items.  Chris got to try out the dial phone, he saw some dishes that we used as dinner plates.....oh and the most prized item was a similar fur piece my mother insisted I wear to my junior prom in high school.  While other girls were wearing shawls, my mother had me in a white fur piece and also had my dress special made of pink satin and white lace.  Quite frankly I was embarrassed to be so "over dressed" and felt dowdy looking to boot.

 

Don't even get me started on the senior prom gown......