On February 13, 2025, I published a piece on this blog discussing the way objects with stories can personalize and enliven our homes. Today’s piece is a continuation of the series within the blog about storied objects. This rose carved ivory box is a storied object…
The box has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember…the memories begin in my twelve-year old self sitting in a chair in the dining room of my grandparents’ home in Ajijic, Mexico. The dining table had a matching glass fronted cabinet beside it. The cabinet was filled with carved pieces of ivory crammed onto its shelves and lit from above. St. George slaying the dragon mesmerized me. My grandfather would sometimes open the cabinet doors and ask me to hold out my hand palm up. He would then take what looked like a red bean the size of my fingernail and pull on a miniscule ivory stopper to release a dozen or so flat carved ivory elephants into my hand. My grandparents themselves fascinated me and the memory of being with them can still make me smile in appreciation.
During one visit Grandfather called my sister and I into the dining room. He asked us to look into the cabinet and choose one thing we would like to have for our own. I chose this rose carved box and my sister chose another similar box with a carved daisy handle. To our young minds these boxes would be more useful and practical than some of the more exotic carvings. I have never regretted my choice. The box sits alongside the antique glove box on the chest beside my bed. It is the first and last thing to be seen each day. Throughout my life the ivory box has always held a place of honor and is a constant reminder of my grandparents.
Imagine my surprise when seeing this ivory dragon encrusted box in the San Antonio Museum of Art. It was my birthday and naturally I chose to visit the museum and have lunch in the restaurant in an old carriage house behind the building. The box is on the third floor where there is a large collection of Oriental art. The exhibit is designed to look as if it were the bedroom of a Chinese woman of wealth and status. The ivory box is placed on what might have been a dressing table and as such might have held her jewels.
Thinking about this post drew my attention to the cream and ivory-colored objects with carving or texture which can be seen as you walk throughout our home. It is possible to gather similar things without full intent or realization until we group like objects together and suddenly, we can see where our interests lie. Here are the things I discovered on my walk about the house…
A piece of angel wing coral carved by the sea…
A limestone philosopher’s rock hollowed by the water that once covered our land…
The carved handle of a decorative boar bristled brush bought long ago…
The scales of a fossilized fish…
Fossils unearthed on our land and kept in a glass table box…
End pages of but one of dozens of journals throughout the house…
I could go on…
Discover more from from deep in the heart
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