King Richard The First In Carved Wood

AGES-OLD FOLK ART CARVING OF THE ICONIC BUT RUTHLESS KING, "RICHARD THE FIRST"

REGIONAL ANTIQUE HUNT TURNS UP A BRITISH KING IN CARVED WOOD

     NOTE: As promised, tonight is the opening chapter of the month-long succession of short stories, inspired by a centuries old wooden laptop desk, I was presented at Christmas, that I feel is a tad enchanted. Enchanted in a good way of course, and the kind of possession that works for an old writer like me, wondering if all the inspiration in the well has finally dried up forever. This isn't a series of stories about ghosts or wayward spirits, or much about the paranormal at all. It's transference of energy from a previously loved piece, by a chronicle of former owners, some of the, who may have felt cheated their possessions were distributed without their permission after their demise. A little post death jealousy you might say. Let's see if this works for me, a not very good fiction writer. You can check this out every day for the coming month, on Curries Antiques facebook page.
     I always thought that one day I would find a use for volume two of, get this, "The History of England From The Invasion of Julius Caesar To The Revolution in 1688 In Eight Volumes," by David Hume. In terms of collecting old books, having one edition of an eight part series, means that the text on its own isn't worth more than about twenty bucks as a shelf filler. Even though this edition was printed in 1812, during the Canadian / American, War of 1812, it is only of value to someone who is missing Volume Two from their own set, and this still wouldn't amount to a great deal of money. Histories of England and Europe generally, unless they possessed something unique about them, the author, or were published in a small print-run, aren't uncommon or particularly valuable even from a book now 204 years old. By the way, I found it about ten years ago in a small second hand shop in Orillia, and for the two dollar asking price, I decided to read-it, for one thing, and let it fill out, at its leisure, a space on my own office book shelf. I can't allow beautiful old books to be destroyed by over-handling by the bargain hunters in a second hand shop. I just can't!
     About a month ago, I discovered a rather interesting folk art wood carving, of what I assumed then, was a mounted bust of a former British King. It was in the booth of an antique mall we like to visit, just north of Orillia, known as "Antiques on Highway 11 North," and the cheapskate that I am, made me put it down three times out of four visits. Even on Sunday, I picked it up two times, and then putting it back on the ledge, on which it was being displayed; too cheap to pay the forty two dollar asking price. The third time I re-visited the carving, I was going-on the message swirling in my head, most likely from the spirits that follow me around as my antique-buying advisors, on these matters, (I think they could at least chip in for fuel or lunch) that this was a significant piece with some provenance the would prove interesting down the road. It seems I'm always investing on antiques for down-the-road investment. I just hope the road has some added miles to it, or my sons are going to inherit it, and a lot of unfinished research, to go with the antiques in-the-wings of Birch Hollow.
     On the final approach, and pick-up of the carving, I knew it had to be a folk art depiction of King Richard I, "The Lion Hearted". I don't know why exactly, but it was clear, this was a carving of someone of considerable reputation; and not just a run of the mill carving from someone, in antiquity, handy with a knife. There was an inscription on the back of this very old wood plaque, which recorded that it had been "bought by Mary in Ireland, 1974." It may have been a carving that was mounted onto the woodwork of an Irish pub, or attached to a mantlepiece of a great fireplace, or on a door frame of a very old dwelling in Ireland. It is difficult to know the exact age of this carving of an iconic King of England, but it would appear to be at least a hundred and fifty years old; yet could be much older than this, but would require examination of the wood, in order to secure a more accurate date. Even then, this might have been old wood, to make a new carving, so it's up to British historians / antiquarians, to identify why this adornment was created in the first place; and of course when would this have been popular, for example, in Ireland. That's the most important question, unless it was an antiquity moved from England by an antique dealer, or shifting of an estate from England to Ireland.
     The piece was modestly restored sometime in the past fifty years, with paint upgrading for the hair and crown. A screw was put in the back to hold the bust to the plaque, and there are remnants of two tiny square nails, which date the piece to at the very least, the mid to late 1800's. It is an expertly carved piece, in the folk art, naive style, but a resemblance close enough, to be able to establish, on only minor reference, that it is most definitely King Richard I.
     Now, getting back to my 1912 edition of "The History of England." As Suzanne and I was researching the carving and King Richard, online, it took a very small amount of time, to identify it as the former King, according to other published antiquated images. I then thought about the book I kept at my side, in the music studio, for occasional reference. Sure enough, when I sat down to commence work this morning, I pulled the carving to my side, on the table I work from, and opened the 1812 book right to the first chapter being "Richard I." The highlights of the chapter being, "The King's preparations for the Crusade - Sets out on the Crusades, Transactions in Sicily, - King's arrival in Palestine, Disorders in England, The King's heroic actions in Palestine, - Captivity in England - The King's heroic actions in Palestine - Captivity in Germany - War with France, - Return to England, - Death, - and Character of the King, and - Miscellaneous Transactions of this Reign."
     "Richard died in the tenth year of his reign, and the forty-second of his age; and he left issue behind him," notes the book, prepared by historian David Hume. "The most shining parts of this Prince's character are his military talents. No man, even in that romantic age, carried personal courage and intrepidity to a greater height; and this quality gained him the appellation of the lion-hearted. He passionately loved glory, chiefly military glory; and as his conduct in the field was not inferior to his valour, he seems to have possessed every talent necessary for acquiring it. His resentments also were high; his pride unconquerable; and his subjects, as well as his neighbours, had therefore reason to apprehend, from the continuance of his reign, a perpetual sense of blood and violence. Of an impetuous and vehement spirit, he was distinguished by all the good, as well as the bad qualities, incident to that character! He was open, frank, generous, sincere, and brave: he was revengeful, domineering, ambitious, haughty, and cruel: and was thus better calculated to dazzle men by the splendour of his enterprises, than either to promote their happiness, or of his own grandeur, by a sound and well regulated policy. As military talents make great impression on the people, he seems to have been much beloved by his English subjects; and he is remarked to have been the first Prince of the Norman line, that bore any sincere regard to them. He passed however, only four months of his reign in that kingdom. The Crusade employed him near three years. He was detained about fourteen months in captivity, the rest of his reign was spent either in war, or preparations for war, against France. And he was so pleased with the fame which he had acquired in the east that he determined notwithstanding his past misfortunes, to have farther exhausted his kingdom, and to have exposed himself to new hazards, by conducting another expedition against the infidels.
     "Though the English pleased themselves with the glory which the King's martial genius procured them, his reign was very oppressive and somewhat arbitrary, by the high taxes which he levied on them, and often without consent of the states or great council. In the ninth year of his reign, he levied five shillings on each hyde of land; and because the clergy refused to contribute their share, he put them out of the protection of the law, and ordered civil courts to give them no sentence for any debts which they might claim. Twice in his reign he ordered all his charters to be sealed anew, and the parties to pay fees for the renewal."
     The historian writes, "It was during the Crusades, that the custom of using coats of arms was first introduced into Europe. The Knights, cased up in armour, had no way to make themselves be known and distinguished in battle, but by the devices on their shields, and these were gradually adopted by their posterity and families, who were proud of the pious and military enterprizes of their ancestors. King Richard was a passionate lover of poetry. There even remain some poetical works of his composition. And he bears a rank among the Provencal poetes or Trobadores, who were the first of the modern Europeans that distinguished themselves by attempts of that nature."
     In a battle, during the war with France, in the year 1195, King Richard was hit with an arrow in the shoulder, which when removed by the surgeon, was extracted causing collateral damage, resulting in a deadly infection setting-in, which killed Richard a short while later.
     I don't really believe that I possess an 821 year old icon of King Richard the Lion Hearted, but gosh wouldn't that be neat. I expect instead, that it was created with best intentions, to honor the late King, a ruthless man he was, but it was probably for the decoration of a pub, or roadhouse, with a royal theme. There are thousands of possibilities of course, and it will take some research time to find out more about its former significance, whether to hotel, pub, roadhouse, or private residence in Ireland, where it was discovered in 1974. I was in England at the time this piece was purchased in another part of the British Empire.
     I love finding relics like this, that with the elbow grease of research, can amplify its relevance in historical terms, to other situations and events in the country in which it was found. It has a fair number of chips and bumps, and sundry other impressions caused by rough handling, and possibly exposure to the weather, which helps date the piece to having been made sometime in the 1800's; the question is, whether it was earlier in the century or later.
     It was a pretty good investment, none the less, as I am a big fan of British history, being the a descendant of the United Empire Loyalists, on my grandmother's side.
     When we find out more, regarding ongoing research about this royalty relic, I will let you know the findings. If it dates back to the reign of King Richard, well then I'll be rich.