Patina: 15 Selected Items

What is patina? It is how we describe the surface of an item which allows its age and history to be evident. Patina refers to the wear and depth the surface of an item develops as it ages and is handled. For many objects it is important not to merely know that it is old, but to see it.

Patina is the difference between a second-hand item and an antique. Most people don’t regard the former as being particularly valuable; but the latter is held to have more esteem and more importance. Why? Perhaps it is because of our own sense of mortality and our wish to connect with objects that have greater longevity than we do. Items with good patina also tend to be more beautiful. The ‘depth’ of the surface of something that is real and old can be deep and lustrous, whereas the surface of an item that is not old or fake tends to be lifeless and dead. And of course genuinely old items allow us to connect with the past – to connect with those who have come before, sometimes with those many centuries ago. Mostly importantly, good patina means that an item has a real story – and that is what collecting is all about: rarely are collectors  materialistic; instead they are collectors of stories, and the objects they collect merely are the material evidence for their stories. In this way, collectors are guardians and preservers of our histories, and patina is the physical evidence of the past. This is why patina is important.

So scroll down to see 15 items currently in stock, drawn from cultures around the world, which we feel have especially incontrovertible patinas.

Receive our monthly catalogues.

or...

6773

Enquiry about object: 6773

    Your First Name (required)

    Your Last Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Country (required)

    Your Message

    Exceptional, Early Tanimbar Ancestor Figure

    Tanimbar, Southeast Moluccas, Eastern Indonesia
    18th century

    height: 16.4cm, width: 5.4cm, depth: 4.5cm

    Provenance

    Private Collection, Northern England; acquired by the previous owners from an antiques fair, York, England, circa 1980

    5364

    Enquiry about object: 5364

      Your First Name (required)

      Your Last Name (required)

      Your Email (required)

      Your Country (required)

      Your Message

      Early Javanese Unusually Large Cast Bronze Buddha

      Java or Sumatra, Indonesia, but most probably imported from northern India
      Classical Period, 8th century

      height (without stand): 21.9cm, width: 17.1cm, depth: 11.8cm, weight: 2,576g

      Provenance

      Private Collection, London, UK.

      6611

      Enquiry about object: 6611

        Your First Name (required)

        Your Last Name (required)

        Your Email (required)

        Your Country (required)

        Your Message

        Portuguese-Thai Lacquered Box with Braganza Cross Mother-of-Pearl & Glass Inlay

        Thailand, probably Ayutthaya, & Portugal
        17th-18th century

        length: 26.6cm, depth: 14.8cm, height: 13.2cm, weight: 936g

        Sold

        Provenance

        Portuguese art market

        5443

        Enquiry about object: 5443

          Your First Name (required)

          Your Last Name (required)

          Your Email (required)

          Your Country (required)

          Your Message

          Early, Carved Wooden Massim Sword Club or Lime Spatula

          Massim area, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea
          18th-19th century

          length: 62.5cm, width at widest point: 8cm

          Provenance

          UK art market

          1111

          Enquiry about object: 1111

            Your First Name (required)

            Your Last Name (required)

            Your Email (required)

            Your Country (required)

            Your Message

            Batak Raja’s Brass Tobacco Pipe (Tulpang)

            Toba Batak, North Sumatra, Indonesia
            19th century

            length: 76cm

            Provenance

            Christie's, The Trevor Barton Collection.

            6708

            Enquiry about object: 6708

              Your First Name (required)

              Your Last Name (required)

              Your Email (required)

              Your Country (required)

              Your Message

              Seven Silver Birth Motif Pendants (Salhayat)

              Libya, Egypt, Algeria & Djerba Island, Tunisia
              circa 1900

              length of the largest pendant: 10.3cm, combined weight: 111g

              Provenance

              UK art market

              6187

              Enquiry about object: 6187

                Your First Name (required)

                Your Last Name (required)

                Your Email (required)

                Your Country (required)

                Your Message

                Fine, Berber Carved Wooden Spindle Whorl

                Berber People, Anti-Atlas, Morocco
                19th century

                diameter: 5.8cm, height: 2.7cm

                Provenance

                private collection, UK

                3908

                Enquiry about object: 3908

                  Your First Name (required)

                  Your Last Name (required)

                  Your Email (required)

                  Your Country (required)

                  Your Message

                  Ifugao Carved Wooden Ritual Bowl with Handle (Duyu)

                  Ifugao People, Northern Luzon, Philippines
                  18th-19th century

                  length: 20.4cm, width: 13.5cm, height: 6.3cm

                  Provenance

                  private European collection.

                  3575

                  Enquiry about object: 3575

                    Your First Name (required)

                    Your Last Name (required)

                    Your Email (required)

                    Your Country (required)

                    Your Message

                    Superb Balinese Palace Door & Frame

                    Bali, Indonesia
                    18th-early 19th century

                    height: 178cm, width: 110cm

                    Provenance

                    private collection, Ireland.

                    4872

                    Enquiry about object: 4872

                      Your First Name (required)

                      Your Last Name (required)

                      Your Email (required)

                      Your Country (required)

                      Your Message

                      Collection of 145 Ethiopian Silver Crosses (Yangat Masqal)

                      Ethiopia
                      19th-early 20th century

                      approximate total combined weight: 2.2kg

                      Provenance

                      private collection, UK.

                      4146

                      Enquiry about object: 4146

                        Your First Name (required)

                        Your Last Name (required)

                        Your Email (required)

                        Your Country (required)

                        Your Message

                        Silver-Encased Dagger (Dha Hmyaung) with Ivory Hilt

                        Shan people, Burma
                        18th-19th century

                        total length: 39.5cm, weight: 348g

                        Sold

                        Provenance

                        UK art market

                        3497

                        Enquiry about object: 3497

                          Your First Name (required)

                          Your Last Name (required)

                          Your Email (required)

                          Your Country (required)

                          Your Message

                          Superb Pair of Ibeji Figures (Ere Ibeji)

                          Yoruba People, Oyo Tribe, Shaki Region, Nigeria
                          late 19th century

                          heights: 24.4cm

                          Sold

                          Provenance

                          UK art market

                          4313

                          Enquiry about object: 4313

                            Your First Name (required)

                            Your Last Name (required)

                            Your Email (required)

                            Your Country (required)

                            Your Message

                            Eshu Dance Wrist Pendant

                            Yoruba People, Southern Egbado, Nigeria
                            19th century

                            height: 10.2cm

                            Provenance

                            private collection, London.

                            7207

                            Enquiry about object: 7207

                              Your First Name (required)

                              Your Last Name (required)

                              Your Email (required)

                              Your Country (required)

                              Your Message

                              Fine, Dayak Brass Helmet Ornament

                              Dayak People, Borneo, Malaysia/Indonesia
                              19th century

                              width: 10.6cm, height: approximately 17.5cm, weight: 93g

                              Provenance

                              UK art market

                              6488

                              Enquiry about object: 6488

                                Your First Name (required)

                                Your Last Name (required)

                                Your Email (required)

                                Your Country (required)

                                Your Message

                                Pair of Palestinian Woman’s Silver Bracelets (Saba’ Wiyat or Sleitat Fadda)

                                Palestinian People, Sinai (Egypt), Hebron (Palestine)
                                circa 1900

                                width across: 4cm, internal diameter: 5.8-6.2cm (adjustable), combined weight: 162g

                                Sold

                                Provenance

                                UK art market

                                4539

                                Enquiry about object: 4539

                                  Your First Name (required)

                                  Your Last Name (required)

                                  Your Email (required)

                                  Your Country (required)

                                  Your Message

                                  Large Bronze Vishnu

                                  South India
                                  Vijaynagara Period, circa 16th century

                                  height (without stand): 39.5cm

                                  Sold

                                  Provenance

                                  UK art market