As you all know we love finding pieces with a story and this is one, we just couldn't wait to share. The photo on my right is of an Indian sterling silver frame by Hamilton & Co., c.1945-50, however the interesting thing is, who the photograph is of. Introducing the Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar of Faridkot who ruled over the region between 1918-1947 across the time of both World Wars.

Now you may notice the two envelopes in the photo, these were signed cards sent to the original owner of this silver photo frame, Lieutenant General Sir Iven Gillard & Lady Mackay.

Lt Gen Mackay was a senior Australian army officer who served in both World Wars. He was originally a physics tutor teaching at the University of Sydney from 1910 until the First World War broke out and he joined the Australian Imperial Force shortly after. Due his tenure he served in the 4th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli and then moved to the Western Front and later being promoted to Brigadier General in 1918 and led the 1st Infantry Brigade in numerous battles and in the attack on the Hindenburg Line. After the war Mackay continued his studies and became Headmaster at Cranbrook School, Sydney between 1933-1939 until the time of the Second World War broke out where he was now Major General and led the 6th Division in to the Western Desert Campaign, and later in the Battle of Greece where he was the only Australian general to face the Waffen-SS in battle. In 1942 he assumed command of the Second Army where he led the New Guinea fighting campaign. After his active duties had ended he was recognised and appointed as High Commissioner to India in November 1943 where he met the Raja of Faridkot. Mackay's papers and portraits are held in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

After doing some further research, the Raja of Faridkot passed in 1989 and as one of the remaining independent states of India his will has been highly contested in a 20 year legal battle which his two remaining daughters have just won their share of over 4 billion dollars!

Come in store and check the frame and signed letters to Lt Gen Mackay from the Raja of Faridkot. We look forward to seeing you soon and as we said we love a good story.

To continue, see the image on the left with a selection of our new silver and enamel pieces:
1. A pair of 1950s gilt metal and hand painted vitreous enamel cufflinks with the colour and insignia of the Royal Engineers (left);
2. A sterling silver and vitreous enamel Royal Australian Air Force sweetheart brooch, c.1940 (top left);
3. A hallmarked sterling silver napkin ring with vitreous enamel Birmingham 1930 (top mid);
4. A hallmarked sterling silver napkin ring with vitreous enamel Glasgow 1953 (top right);
​5. A hallmarked sterling silver vesta case with a vitreous enamel shield of St John's College Oxford University by Blanckenesee & Sons Birmingham 1902 (bottom right).

December's birthstones offer three ways to fight the winter blues or in Australia represent the three beautiful shades of our oceans: tanzanite, zircon and turquoise.

These gems range from the oldest on earth (zircon), to one of the first mined and used in jewellery (turquoise), to one of the most recently discovered (tanzanite).

​All of these stones beauty rivals even the most precious gems. Colourless zircon is a convincing replacement for diamond, tanzanite often substitutes sapphire, and turquoise is unmatched in its hue of blue.

​Since the Early Ages, Turquoise (image of items on the right) has been believed to aid in spiritual growth and it is also associated with the mythical ability that attracts money, success and love. Its mysterious powers also include protection, healing, courage, friendship and luck. It relaxes the mind, and eases mental tension.

Feel like playing a traditional game over this long weekend? Well why don't you try something new or something old should we say.

​POPE JOAN. The traditional equipment for this game, as illustrated on the right, consists of a wooden lacquer box divided into nine compartments, three sections for the decks of cards, four for mother of pearl gaming chips and two containing the stacked eight papier mache dishes each displaying their label: Pope (9♦), Matrimony, Intrigue, Ace, King, Queen, Knave and Game. Any number of players can take part and each receive thirty mother of pearl counters at the beginning of the game. A fifty-two card pack completes the equipment. This rare Pope Joan, shown with the lid and the interior, is Cantonese and dates from the first quarter of the nineteenth century. 
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The aim of the game is to either be the first to play all the cards of a hand; or to win the most counters by playing certain cards.

​Now for some history on the naming of this pastime. The game was presumably named after Pope Julius II, the Warrior Pope, or it derives from the legend that Pope John VIII was actually a woman. As the Catholic Church denies a female pope, the legend was used as protest propaganda in the Victoria era, which also explains the popularity of the game in Scotland. Funnily enough, the 9♦ is sometimes called the Curse of Scotland.
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Doesn't this game sound intriguing? Come and try something new and old this long weekend, and visit us in store at Greene & Greene Antiques, Woollahra.

​Pope Joan game in original
​Cantonese box, c.1820 - $2,450