As you know by now, I spent some helping clear out the aged aunts house at Pau.  The upside of this was that I was offered my choice of the goodies on offer — i.e first dibs on the treasure. There was one thing I particularly wanted, and I had the perfect space for it.

The piece looks unassuming — like a tired old door — which it is. In itself, it is an interesting object — showing its history in the layers of paint and the markings where the ornate hinges were once placed. It was recovered by Mr P’s aunt from a derelict nunnery in the south of France.

She stripped one side of all the paint back to the wood and lovingly waxed and polished it. Must have taken her many hours.

The she mounted a two part china fountain on it . You can see the richness of the wood best in this picture.

Here you can see the fountain close up.

We could connect it up and have a fully working fountain — we have chosen to leave it unconnected. The bowl currently houses festive greenery .

The perfect place I mentioned — at the end of the long corridor that splits our home in two and where it can be seen and appreciated by us and everyone else who visits.

For us it is a tangible reminder of the lady who made a thousand tarts.

Mr P’s mum made sure that was not the only treasure we left with — will share more of them over the coming days.

7 Comments

    1. It was just too good not to share – I want to go and find the old nunnery now and see if there is anything else left !

    1. What I have seen I have loved – I love that this little old lady gave new life to something that was in the process of being discarded. I am not sure I would have had her patience though, it must have taken hours to polish.

  3. Pingback: Wooden Yoke Treasures from Portugal via Pau « Boles Blogs

  4. WOW – Nicola, this is gorgeous! What a great find. I thought the door was nice before, but the end result is stunning and my shoulders are sore just thinking about all that rubbing and sanding. You created a beautiful, functional piece here with so much history attached to it as well. i love it.

    Happy New Year.

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