Pieces of treasure

Denzil shares some of his treasured items.

The tray on the left belonged to my paternal grandmother. She used it to serve betel leaves to customers in her shop, which she ran after she was widowed when my father was a teenager.

It is a model toy aeroplane that I bought in Sydney. It can be wound by hand for a short movement on the ground.

This is a metal chook bird, slightly smaller than life-size. I bought it in Sri Lanka from Paradise Road. It reminds me of the chook pen that my grandmother maintained in our backyard when I was a kid. It is heavy.

This is a Baldessa camera made in Germany in the early sixties. It has a viewfinder and bulb flash holder. My eldest daughter gifted this vintage camera to me, knowing that I was a camera buff.

I bought this from a village fair at Country NSW at Nelson Bay. It depicted an Indian cattle type and reminded me of the bulls and cows in my old country, Sri Lanka.

The bell belonged to my father. He used it in his office to draw attention to the messengers in his office. It is made of copper and still works.

This is the bust of Siddharth Gautama before he became Buddha. I bought this during a holiday in Sri Lanka.

This tray, made of brass, belonged to my maternal grandparents. They bought it when they visited a venerated church for Catholics located by the side of a beautiful beach in Northwest Sri Lanka.

These photo frames belong to the 1940s and 1950s. The frames and photos are originals. The two small photos on either side capture my mother and father and his friend before they got together. Both are dated from the early fifties. The larger photo, taken in 1940, is of my paternal grandparents and their children. My maternal great-grandmother is also in that photo.

More of Denzil’s heritage handlooms

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The artwork and images belong to the author.