Tony’s Buddha

Tony's Buddha

My object is a  ‘Buddha’ on a stand.  I think it is of Vietnamese or Burmese origin. It stands 150cm (6”) high and 180cm (7”) wide. It is made of brass and the base is made of a very dark wood which has been roughly carved. I inherited the ‘Buddha’ from my father Jim Ford who inherited it from his father, my grandfather James Ford. It was a feature in my grandparents’ house. It had pride of place on the mantelpiece or the sideboard. As children, when my sisters and I visited, we were told that there might be something underneath it for us – but only if the ‘Buddha’ was smiling. This became a family ritual.  Every time we visited our grandparents in Salford we would look under the ‘Buddha’ to find a threepenny bit or a sweet.

We have tried to find out more about this object – we think it has another name. My grandfather never served in the Far East during his military service so we have no idea where it came from. One story I was told has it that it was given to my grandfather when he was a bailiff.  When I had it valued it was only worth about £25 and that was the metal value alone. I would love to know more about this object.

Tony

My wife and I and our two children moved to St. Anne’s  in Dec. 1989 as I was due to take up a new job as Headteacher on 1st January. Since then time has moved on. Our children now live elsewhere in the country and we have settled into life here. I serve on Fylde Borough and St Anne’s Town Council and am currently the Town Mayor.

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