Posted by Iain on 11/02/2024
This year give a gift that will last forever. an antique which is unique rare and special.
Antique gifts for your loved one. We have great ideas for men and women. Antique jewellery, Antique wine decanters golfing antiques. This fantastic antique Masonic ring, rare and beautiful.
A history of Valentine.
We can go back to the Roman times with the pagan fertility festival known as Lupercalia, then from AD 197 through AD 289 some serious martyring in the shape of Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome, who were prepared to die for what they believed in, and did. While imprisoned Valentine of Rome cured his jailor’s daughter from blindness and then fell in love with her, sending her a note signed “from your Valentine.”
In AD 496 Pope Gelasius declared the 14th of February as St Valentine’s Day, but it’s wasn’t romantic at this point, it was a Christian Feast Day.
It’s not until Chaucer in about AD 1382 that we got the first association with romance.
So an old story that began with violence and martyrdom was reborn as a tale of romance…
Personally, St Valentine’s Day for me should be about originality and wooing that special person without remit to a) a large bouquet of flowers and b) a large box of chocolates. Thinking outside the box is what is required and here are some antique gifts that would really impress, should they arrive on my doorstep
Although they’re not dated the first antique moulds appeared in France during the mid-eighteen hundreds. They were created from sheet copper and were often only perhaps in inch in diameter. If these don’t inspire you take prepare a chocolate feast over the Valentine’s Day celebrations then I don’t know what will.
Spotting this picture www.antiques.co.uk made my heart do a double flip. This has to be one of the most impressive gifts you could give, I would be extremely happy to receive this beautiful piece of antique art.
I would be quite happy to receive an antique train as a Valentine’s Gift purely for its originality without being a train enthusiast. They can be in excellent condition and I can think of a million reasons to own one.
This would certainly make me happy if it arrived in my lap come Valentine’s Day, a sweet little travelling clock beautifully lined with an accurate minute repeater and a green leather case in which to carry. It’s also French which is in keeping with a Valentine theme, seen as they are the kings and queens of romance. Their language is full of romantic phrases and if you decide to purchase then it must come with some suitable French words.
A gorgeous Antique teapot. Beautiful, if you collect this sort of thing, and also quite beautiful if you don’t. Teapots you’d feel almost duty bound to show off with over tea and biscuits, although it may not be deemed appreciate due to its age. It would be quite wonderful to simply stare at . Again, another gift I would gladly receive on St Valentine’s Day.
So there you have it. The emphasis is on imagination, effort and spontaneity, no flowers, no chocolates, (apart from the moulds) and ten out of ten for effort if you do manage to find that perfect gift. And there’s plenty to choose from on www.antiques.co.uk to inspire the imagination.
Happy Valentines day 2024 from Iain and his team