In the first of a continuing series on retro items which have taken a reader’s fancy, Myf Thompson, of The Old Courthouse Museum, Batemans Bay, shares a tale about a family heirloom.
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Fifty years ago, in the little Thames-side town of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, my mother was fossicking in a charity shop.
On a strict budget, her purchasing power didn’t stretch above five pounds ($10) and was usually considerably less.
An avid reader, Mum spotted a folding stand made of solid, dark wood, which looked like it might support a coffee-table sized book. It was very dirty, but Mum could see decorative carving and shiny shell cut outs, which appealed to her. Five pounds was handed over.
Cleaned and polished, the bookstand glowed, revealing intricate carving and floral marquetry in mother-of-pearl and slivers of coloured stone. Some decorative elements were missing, but didn’t detract from the beauty of the craftsmanship.
The bookstand went with Mum wherever she moved, displaying whatever took her fancy. Ultimately it became a familiar, but ‘foreign’ repository for family photos and correspondence.
I’ve grown to appreciate the decorative symbolism in Islamic architecture, and in May this year visited the temporary exhibit Faith and Culture in Islam at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. Among the pieces on display was a bookstand – exactly like ours.
I stood for a good 15 minutes reading the caption which revealed its Islamic religious significance. The bookstand [merfa’a] was designed to hold Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, a word which translates as “to be read, or recited”. I pondered how an identical object ended up a little charity shop by the seaside, half a century before. Displaying my Methodist mother’s favourite images, or supporting an exquisitely illustrated and revered Qur’an, I find it comforting that an object of beauty can be shared by whomever and wherever it’s found.
Also catching my eye was an Australian Afghani camel saddle. With brumbies in the heritage headlines, I was reminded that in 1860, 24 camels and their cameleers were imported for the Burke and Wills expedition. A world-famous rail journey, the Ghan honours the role of Muslim Afghani and Pakistani cameleer immigrants in shaping the Australian outback. “So that you may know each other” – Faith and Culture in Islam, is at the National Museum of Australia until July 22.
M Thompson © general@oldcourthousemuseum.com
Want to share a favourite retro story and pictures? Email community.eurobodalla@fairfaxmedia.com.au with the words RETRO in the subject field.