Sunday 15 February 2009

A family heirloom...

When my mother -in-law died she left my son a table. It was made by her great uncle G.K Forbes, who lived in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He came from a large family, originally from Scotland, and he took up furniture making, and particularly marquetry, as a hobby.He made some beautiful pieces, among them this table. According to my mother-in-law's notes he also made a wooden mosaic plaque of the Forbes coat of arms that hangs ( or did hang) in Forbes House, Aberdeen University.before I cleaned


Underneath the table, tucked away carefully,we discovered a newspaper cutting from South Africa with a piece on Great Uncle G and photographs of more of his work. I have spent time this afternoon cleaning up the table so we, and others in the family, can appreciate it in years to come.

after I cleaned



It is strange to think that this little piece of furniture was actually made by this man all the way over in South Africa, and then decorated so beautifully. Apparently he never made any sketches or plans, just carried the idea in his head and then created the idea with wood from all over the world. And now it is with us, cleaned up and eady to be appreciated.

7 comments:

Gail said...

Totally awesome piece...there are no words I can use to describe its beauty! And it has history which makes it doubly wonderful.
What I have started doing with some of my pieces is writing the history on a note card and tucking it away on the piece.

Unknown said...

Hi Gail...Funnily enough the newspaper clipping was tucked away under the table!My mother-in-law was very organised with her family history.Glad you like the table... thought this might be down your street! S

Sue Jacquette said...

Wow. How beautiful!

Amy said...

That is amazingly beautiful. Lucky you.

trixie stix said...

Simply gorgeous! Hold tight to it, the knowledge and history are pricless. BTW -love the new blog look.

Unknown said...

Hi Sue and Amy ... glad you like it! It must have taken a lot of work to make - a lost skill. S

Trixie-Stix, hi!!! How are you? It does make it special to know the history behind it! Glad you like my new look too!! S

Kelly Hudgins said...

gorgeous!