{Rural Georgia - Stevens Antiques & Guns in Danville}

When we immigrated from The Kingdom of The Netherlands to Georgia, USA there were quite some differences. There were no windmills here in this rural Georgia area.

But it was quite interesting to find in Danville, Georgia such a place like Stevens Antiques & Guns. We did buy a very special silver Verge Fuzee antique pocket watch, some antique silver coins for my sister Diny and a Smith & Wesson for me...

This is me standing on the side of the shop. That was October 1986. The antique silver Verge fuzee pocket watch is since September 2006 in The Netherlands as we gave it to Judith, Pieter's niece. She collects them.

My Smith & Wesson we did trade in again, before leaving for Pennsylvania and moving to Italy.

Related link:
{Tuesday May 4, dinner with friends} | previous post by me, mentioning our Judge Helen through whom I  obtained my concealed weapon's license.

{Antique 19th Century Silver Toast Rack Replica, Made in Kotagede, Indonesia}

Going back and forth all those years for working in Indonesia, we did have this beautiful Antique 19th Century Toast Rack Replica made by those Silversmiths from Kotagede, Indonesia.

It sure is a bonus for having access to such fine craftsmen and when we spotted this exceptional silver toast rack from ca 1819-1831, husband Pieter took a photo of it in July of 1996. We gave the photo to the silversmiths and we were lucky as in the book, also measurements were given. So let me show you this incredible piece of art...

Here it is... After I removed the Birthday cards and such, that I keep in there for writing, I did polish it first. It was not ready for a photo shoot. What do you say? Nice detailing or not? I fell in love with the ball feet from the photo in the antiques book.

This is the photo we took with us to Kotagede, Indonesia on one of our consulting trips in november of 1996.

Don't you think that they did an excellent job in creating this replica from the antique 19th century silver toast rack? 

I have used this also for High Teas, for putting the napkins inside. 

Love the handle at the top, it really is a very convenient one.

Probably since we had this made in November of 1996, there are not that many active silversmiths left in Kotagede... I hate to see this art being lost!

On Sunday, November 17, 1996 at SS Silver shop in Kotagede with Australian business connection Geoff Price. He fell in love with their silver as well and purchased some nice items for his wife.

That Sunday we did hand them the photo for the creation of the Silver Toast Rack.

Husband Pieter did capture my passion for silver very well...

Here the toast rack is on our table on March 16, 1997 with a vase full of fragrant Wisteria blossoms...

The La Perla lingerie set was in Wisteria color, that's why I placed it there.

Related link:
{Have YOU Ever Seen the Making of Silver in Kotagede, Indonesia?} | previous post by me

{Have YOU Ever Seen the Making of Silver in Kotagede, Indonesia?}

Just would like to ask if any of you ever have seen the making of silver in Kotagede, Indonesia?

Our travels as international consultants did give us many opportunities for getting to see unusual things. Living and working in Indonesia, we already did purchase several hand made silver items in the past but we actually never had observed in great detail how this was coming about. Usually a team of about six men, in the 'Silver City' of Kotagede near Yogyakarta on the island of Java, Indonesia would work at our favorite SS silver shop. We had ordered a coffee set on a tray and that took those six men about six weeks to make. That was in 1992...

Many techniques of making silver have remained unchanged for centuries. You can click on the hyperlink for info. Such as is evident here where a worker starts out on a mount of tar and using a long nail... This looks rather rough for creating such beautiful pieces in the end!

This is the work shop where our items came about. Look how they have to squat down or sit without any back support. People in the USA, Canada, Europe or Australia don't realize how lucky they are for having work conditions in a much more favorable environment. These men were farmers that worked in the rice fields in the morning and in the afternoon they worked as silversmiths. The younger generation is not following in their footsteps and as you can read below this post in a publication from The Jakarta Post, December 11, 2009, it is a tarnished future of Kotagede silver; mainly due to the economy.

We treasure  those pieces that we obtained while we were working and living there. Not just hastily bought tourist souvenirs but carefully selected designs that we had made as we had time for them to create it.

Lots of friends were thinking that silver was dirt cheap over there but one must realize that precious metals like gold and silver are directly linked to the US Dollar and therefore have a world market value. What was cheap for our standards is the labor done by those six men. If that would have to be calculated at our hourly wages, no one person could afford any piece of jewelry or other item!

This is the man that sat squatted down, on the left... all the silver that is being spilled, they do catch and it is being reused of course as it is too precious. That is me standing beside him while husband Pieter took this photo. Our best friends John & Becky from Dublin, Georgia have been with us to this very silver shop and work place in June of 2001. That was our last consulting work period. Just prior to 9/11.

Each person has a different task...

Guess that my dear friend Johanna Gehrlein and author from the book  Rosen-Bestecke  (Rose Flatware) would far better be able to explain their detailed work...

Related links:
{Splendid book about Silver Rose Flatware} | previous blog post with mention of author Johanna Gehrlein from Silber-und-Rosen-Shop
The tarnished future of Kotagede silver | The Jakarta Post, December 11, 2009