New York trash company finds Chinese silk embroidery in East Village garbage job

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to take an East Village garbage job that led me to what some people would call a room full of old garbage. What did I call it? An opportunity — an opportunity to add to my museum of a garage and continue to fill it with vintage, sometimes rare and always interesting antiques full of history, stories and memories.

You can see in the photos here that the place was ready to be cleaned. But that’s what I’m here for. My New York trash company crew and I got to the place, which was a fourth-floor walk-up apartment in the East Village, and got right to work, going through the garbage and taking a look at all the great finds. The tenant had lived there for more than 30 years, so most of his belongings were 30 years old, as well.

I found all kinds of things to add to my collection among the dozens of items that spread across the floor — an old oil painting, a vintage German ring box, several antique clocks, picture frames, a water cooler, lighting fixtures and old calendars.

Perhaps the most interesting find of all was what appeared to be a Chinese silk tapestry.  Embroidered on a piece of silk that appears to have yellowed with age is a design of a multicolored vase with blue, yellow and pink flowers complete with leaves of two shades of green. Tapestries have been used since at least Hellenistic times, which the period of time between 323 BC (when Alexander the Great died) and 31 BC (when the Roman Empire emerged).

Given that this may be a Chinese tapestry, however, it could be from or inspired by the tapestries that were woven in the Han and Wei dynasties, which is when certain forms of weaving came about in China.

More Trash Treasures:

• Garbage removal NYC company finds Vatican coin on waste removal job
• Garbage disposal New York team finds vintage rotary phone in Chelsea apartment clean out
• Plumber leaves trash crew 1950s Rheingold Beer bathroom and kitchen interior demolition job

DiMola Bros. Rubbish Removal
1640 Summerfield St.
Ridgewood, NY 11385
Phone: 718-326-6969
Fax: 718-326-7979
http://dimolabros.com/

~ by DiMolaBros1956 on October 25, 2013.