Then there are the other reasons for collecting. Not just memories or souveniers, but objects as inspiration.
From top left and clockwise: Seashells, locally found amber, antique ivory chess piece, Palindrome Cork (1991, Ravenswood), large piece of amber with insects entrapped, neolithic flint, crystal skull, seashells, snuff bottle (contemporary), hand painted from the inside, row of dinosaur teeth, plastic reliquary containing the plastic reproduction of a saint, mailbox plate.
A small selection of the ornaments on my shelf. 1991, a good year, the logo (3 interlocked ravens) and the date contain a certain symmetry. The snuff bottle, meticulous Asian craftsmanship, to sit with a single brushed hair and paint the bottle through the narrow opening, finer antique examples cost in the thousands of dollars. The Ivory chess piece, knight, a stream of associations -> Parsifal and the Holy Grail, The errant knight, the odd move, the knights tour. The crystal skull and plastic saint, cheap bits of forteana, amber with insects (visible through a magnifying glass), tangible worlds within worlds.
Right: Fossil Nautilus(ammonite?) shell.
And the Nautilus, the golden mean and proportion as simply laid out as possible, underlying mathematical principles for growth and development, fractals, time....
Left: Georgian Keys
Keys, of course, access to secrets, initiation, antique keys because the new swipe cards, microchips and passwords somehow lack poetry, the keys as an object themselves are beautiful, rusted and patinated iron, ornate patterns hand cut to fit the lock.
Above: Brain Coral, buddha, buddha
And Buddha's, I need more of these, the finer Indian bronzes, the pantheon of Gods contained in a printing box shelf...