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March 2004: Easter Eggs and Bells, Faberge, and antique French clocks restoration

Central to the French country antique traditions of Easter is the treasure-trove of children discovering hidden eggs in gardens and courtyards. Eggs are special because they are a symbol of life and life giving: they are the image of a new life. With their perfect oval-shape and stone like qualities, they are both delicate and strong. Even before Christianity was established in France, the Druids worshiped various nature gods. In a ceremony held in many sacred places, they circled around a pile of snake eggs. The Druids’ circling an endless chain pursued the eternity of life.

In the Middle Ages, French tradition of eggs-giving had children going door to door - as we do for Halloween - to receive gifts and eggs. This antique tradition has survived and to this day in our small family-town of Barbizon, our grand children are looking this morning for Easter eggs (hard boiled and painted) all over the village.

Although Easter bells traditions do not go as far back as Easter eggs do, for centuries they’ve called people to church. In the old days, simple peasants believed that they could help scare away evil spirits. And while the bells were silent - from Holy Thursday to Sunday morning- French peasants used to tell their kids that bells had flown to Rome and would return on the Sunday morning.

Nowadays, people still color the eggs and paint them. In Ukraine there is a superb tradition: the Pysanky egg-painting. Whereas in France, boulangeries and confiseries feature magnificently decorated chocolate eggs and bells.

The culmination of refinement in Easter egg decoration was achieved by Carl Faberge for the Russian Czar Peter the Great, see pictures:

http://users.vnet.net/schulman/Faberge/eggs.html#peter

With Easter comes spring and renewal. What a better way to rejuvenate oneself than to attend a class? In March, Guy went to Herr Beck’s French antique clocks’ restoration workshop near Zurich for a full week of training. The studio, filled with tools and antique clocks acquired over a lifetime, reflects the richness and variety in clocks movements created since the 17th century. Drawers filled with miniature tools that fit into larger ones are a miracle of organization. Noisy mechanical weaving machines endlessly twist fine cotton and linen threads to make thin and thick ropes. Tiny new wheels replace broken ones, and everything is hand made individually to fit each antique clock works. It took as much creativity to embellish the ccontainer of the works than it took scientific understanding to invent them. Watching Guy and Heinz putting back together dozens of tiny pieces of the works after cleaning, I envied their patience and passion, and pondered once more about the thin line between craftsmanship and art.

Take a glimpse at Guy’s antiques’ restoration workshop.

Till next time,
Daniele et Guy Veroli