Nothing about this project was easy … but what a special result!

I bought a (large) collection of lead objects from a hobbyist who spends his holidays in various European countries with a metal detector. These so called ‘bottom finds’ were the result of a stay in northern Spain and southern France.

I brought the collection to the ‘Tussen Kunst en Kitch’ series where I learned that the figures shown here are lead toys. Placing these statues in time is difficult; the estimate is that they date between 1700 and 1850.

Working with plexiglass, polystyrene to be precise, is an art in itself. Very nice to try and learn. The wood of the carrier comes from an oak tree that has been blown over by the autumn storm at my parents place in Drenthe. I thoroughly cleaned the statuettes. They have been played with it and they have been underground for over a hundred years, that has left its mark.

In this display I hung eight figures in a row that can now be admired from both sides. The details are beautiful: mini buttons on the jacket of the soldier, the halter around the head of the horse. But also: the tiny backpack at the shooters back and is that an instrument in on one of the mouths?

I very much hope that these ‘People of the past’ will get a nice place in the times of today!

€ 119