22 July, 2017

“To soar like an Eagle!”

 

Well now….it’s another bright, sunny, soon to be quite hot (104 degrees today) morning here in “Sin City”. (smile)  I was quite pleased to have gotten back into the writing mode a few days ago.  Perusing my photos again, I was surprised to discover that up to this point I had not written an installment featuring the many Eagles I have.

Out of the total twenty two birds in the collection, seven of them are Eagles, making them the most represented of the “feathered friends” I’ve accumulated over the years!! (smile)  I’m sad to note though that there were eight at one time, but I actually broke one during a glass cleaning exercise a number of years ago.  It was a nice one too, a very fragile sculpture, and I’ve not seen one in that particular pose since. (sigh)

Anyway, I don’t have many specific memories of how each one of them came to be in the collection, but the one I call the “Emperor Eagle” I do remember as being one that I saw first in an antique mall but was not willing to shell out the asking price for.  I liked the smooth sculpting of the piece, and while its 8-inch height and weight were impressive, I was just not compelled to purchase it that day.

The sort of “regal pose” of this predator as he sits on his rocky perch, seemingly oblivious to anything beneath him at the moment made me think of the “imperious” demeanors demonstrated by the roman emperors, as they listened to the roaring crowds in the coliseum!!  I looked up the word….

Imperious….Someone who gives orders in a way that shows they feel superior or more important than other people.

 Without the least bit of hesitation, I will tell you (with serious conviction bordering on disdain) that over my lifetime, I’ve certainly encountered a number of folks to whom this characteristic could very readily be applied!! (ha,ha,ha,ha) There was another definition that went on to expand that sentence by adding the words “…without justification or right!!”

Okay, so much for “soap box oratory”!! (ha,ha,ha,ha)  Back to the story….

 A number of months later, I saw the piece on Ebay and the asking price was much more appealing!! (ha,ha,ha,ha)  I included the shot of a couple of the other Eagles sort of “bowing in deference” just to illustrate that imagery.  It is how he sits, centered on the curio shelf in relationship to the others.

“The Eagle has landed” is the overall theme of the pieces, but I think I named this particular piece that early on because it was the 1^st of the sculptures that pretty much showed the act of landing rather than being in flight.  At least that’s how I chose to refer to it. (smile)  I believe this was a gift from a friend.  I also think it is a “Princess House” piece, but I cannot remember details on this one.

The “Eagle on a Mountaintop” I found in an antique mall, and I was intrigued by it for a relatively simple reason as I recount it now.  It was a completely clear piece, I mean it did not feature a frosted representation of a rocky surface.  Not much to say about this one.  By this time, I’m recognizing that there are only so many poses one will find Eagles to be shown doing, so from this point on, there will have to be some other aspect of a sculpture that will capture my interest. (smile)

“Eagle ready to Strike”, while similar to the others at first glance, is very different once you perform a detailed examination!! (smile)  I’m really surprised that I bought this piece, because it didn’t adhere to two of my basic “rules of acquisition”.

• It isn’t made of glass. This was not a real problem though as my sailboats are lucite / plexiglas, as well as the “Elephant Walk” and “King of the Mountain” (Lion) pieces.
• It is actually a piece that “lights up”. YES….there is a tiny switch underneath the frosted base.  When turned on, the base lights up in rotational Blue, Green and Red hues!!

Initially I considered this piece pretty “schlocky” and I was disappointed when I picked it up and discovered how lightweight it was owing to it being plastic!!   When I saw it was a “lite up” piece, it still did little to impress me. (ha,ha,ha,ha)  HOWEVER….the reason I looked at it in the first place was because it was an Eagle, and I liked the pose.

It was while discovering the switch underneath that I saw the asking price….only $6.00!!  Okay, so now I’m challenged with upholding my own “snobbish criteria” regarding pieces I’d purchase. (smile)  Do I rationalize my action by saying “well….it fits very well into my Eagles theming, so I will make an exception.”  Or do I stick to my initial perception that the item was pretty “schlocky”, and pass it up….in spite of its very inexpensive (alright….CHEAP!!) pricing!!

Obviously, you know the result of my very intense deliberations!! (ha,ha,ha,ha,ha)  I’m glad that I got this piece, and just for the record, I never turn on the light!!

The “Soaring Eagle” is nice because it’s the most fluid representation of an Eagle in flight that I have!!  I don’t remember exactly whether this one was a gift or I found it during another one of my “antique afternoons”. (smile)

Finally, I’m thinking these days that it’s time for me to determine if I’m going to have as diverse a collection of pieces in the future.  I’m running out of room to display stuff, so I’m thinking of focusing on Big Cats, maybe a couple more Sailboats, Horses and perhaps Eagles. I’ll leave room for an opportunity to have an object pop into my realm because it blows me away via its uniqueness. (smile)

At any rate, I’ve now authored another installment, and introduced a category that can be added to this “Chronicle” website.  Hope you liked it!!