Myrna Schkolne: Early Staffordshire Figures

The word Holocaust has gut-wrenching connotations of genocide, the massive destruction of humans by other humans. I am offended when I hear lesser uses of the word:  "the holocaust on Wall Street." Please! Even when loss of human life is involved-- be it Asia's heartbreaking tsunami or the AIDS epidemic--the word “holocaust” is inappropriate. Using it trivializes (if that is possible) the enormous tragedy of WW2.

Did you read Sophie’s Choice? It is one of the few books I wish I had not read because it has haunted me ever since. A mother’s is forced to choose life for one child, although it means death for the other. So when I heard California’s Governor Schwarzenegger refer to his choice of budget cuts as “a Sophie’s Choice,” my gut heaved.

Which brings me to a choice I made a year or so ago. Totally trivial, in the scheme of life, but within my petty existence, it seemed a big decision. I owned a wonderful bocage gardening group. I loved everything about it. Very crisp bocage, great enamels.

As you can see, the couple are gardening beside a stream, and we were offered the group years ago while my husband and I were toiling installing a stream to feed our fish pond. Of course, we succumbed, and I thought highly enough of this figure group to use it on the dedication page of my book. I believed I had found the very best example of this figure group that I could possibly find. My collecting philosophy is to buy the best; do it right the first time—no upgrading required. This group had a little restoration to the lady’s arm and the watering can rosette…a pity, but so little restoration!

Fast forward many years, and along came another similar gardening group. Although I had never bought a duplicate, the second figure group tempted me because it was PERFECT. I am a sucker for perfection, so I bought it too—at a distance, from an image. It couldn’t possibly be as nice as the first group, I told myself, but I just had to see.

When the new purchase arrived, I stood the two groups side by side, and tried to convince myself that figure group 1 remained the best I would ever see. But  figure group two had more WOW factor. It stood taller, with a fuller bocage, some nice decorative details on the base, the same top-quality enamels and crisp modeling, and not a chip anywhere...not even a chip to the leaves overhanging the potted plant between the couple. A true miracle. On the other hand, on figure group 1, the skin colors were so pretty and I was emotionally attached to it…but the more I looked at that restored arm, the more it bothered me.  So which figure group to keep, which one to sell?

What are friends for if not to help with these decisions? I stood the two figures besides each other, and sent their picture to two friends. Both said it was a no-brainer: figure group 2 was the keeper. NOT what I wanted to hear, but I knew it was right. With great pain, I gave figure group 1 to a dealer to sell for me. It flew out of his stock within moments, and I felt SO much better. My beautiful ceramic child had a loving home and a collector out there was really happy.

Last night, I looked at figure group 2 again and knew I had made the right choice. No regrets. Perfection is never over-rated.