Every Object Tells a Story

This extraordinary and breathtakingly beautiful book celebrates a lifetime of collecting passion. Oliver Hoare, one of London’s most distinguished dealers, originally learnt his craft in the company of Bruce Chatwin. His love of the rare, the evocative, the seductive shines out from every stunning object in this collection and the stories that he teases out from them. No one could fail to be drawn into this gorgeous labyrinth. The book includes antiquities from the ancient and classical worlds; objects connected to shamanism, magic and alchemy; engravings by Dürer, Hollar and Rembrandt; unusual paintings and textiles; and many curiosities. Highlights include: the silver libation cup of Möngke Khan, grandson of Genghis and ruler of an empire that stretched from modern Bucharest to Peking, and Karachi to Novgorod; the apple from the Garden of Eden – a silver pomander belonging to the Stuart Kings, with bite marks, opening to reveal a silver skull; a Scythian (6-7th centuries BC) jade pendant of the endangered Saiga antelope, as finely carved as anything by Fabergé; a bronze Bacchus head from a tripod table belonging to the Emperor Augustus; a limestone bear carved in 3rd millenium BC Bactria.