Antique store find: Royal Copley Deer Vase

I am so in love with second hand stores, flea markets, antique stores, garage sales, consignment shops – anything where I can find interesting and unusual stuff.  I’m lucky that there are quite a few neat little places like this in my neighbourhood.

Recently I wandered into one of them and this cute kitschy little snuggling deer heads thing caught my eye.  I had no idea what it was though – a hollow deer head?  What on earth?

On a return visit, I asked the antique store owner what the heck it was.  He explained that it was a vase made by Royal Copley, which is apparently “very collectible.”  To be honest, I know nothing about antiques and couldn’t care less what they’re “worth” – I just need to know that I like it.  Heck, I would have thouht that this is the kind of weird trinket that I would pick up at a garage sale (like the big ceramic statue of E.T. that I found at an obscure junk shop for $1 – love!).  I don’t know what I was thinking paying $50 for snuggling deer – probably a protective reaction ingrained when I watched Bambi as a child so many years ago.   I mean, who could say no to those big liquidy eyes?  I just wanted to give them a new home.  Awwwww.