104 responses to “Guarding Our World Heritage Listing”

1. 

   David

   January 16, 2012 at 6:49 am

   
   

   Some may find the following interesting. 

   BONHAMS TO SELL BELT BUCKLE BELIEVED TO BE THE OLDEST CRICKET ARTEFACT OUTSIDE BRITAIN
   
   FEATURING THE ONLY KNOWN IMAGE OF A SLAVE PLAYING SPORT, IT WAS DISCOVERED ON A GRAVEL SPIT IN THE RIVER TWEED IN SCOTLAND
   Bonhams is delighted to be selling the oldest known cricket artefact outside the British Isles, a belt buckle featuring an Afro-European slave playing cricket in Barbados, in its Sporting Memorabilia sale on 30 May 2012 in Chester.
   The buckle, which has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £100,000 – 150,000, was discovered by Clive Williams, a retired advertising consultant from London, with a metal detector that had been given to him by his wife while on holiday near the River Tweed in the Scottish borders in 1979. He cleaned it to discover the figure of a mixed race slave playing cricket, holding a cricket bat and in the act of being bowled out. By chance, Williams was a cricket fanatic and had worked in the West Indies and so he began to research his find.
   With the help of institutions such as the M.C.C. at Lord’s, The British Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, it has been concluded that the buckle features an Afro-European slave playing cricket in Barbados circa 1780. This makes it the earliest known secular sportsman depicted in the Americas.
   It is believed to connect to the Hotham family who have centuries old connections to the West Indies, the Royal Navy and cricket. The Admiral Sir Alan Hotham (1876-1975) was a cricket devotee and lived upstream from where the Buckle was found. In the 1780s his ancestor, the 1st Baron Admiral William Hotham (1736-1813), served in the West Indies, notably Barbados, during the American War of Independence.
   As a result of its depiction and provenance, it has been described by the Pulitzer-winning author, James A Michener as “a valued piece of social history”, while the late C L R James, the celebrated Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, theorist and writer on cricket, who orchestrated the research programme, said: “The little buckle and its fascinating story enrich cricket and must go on enriching the whole world…”
   Since its discovery, the buckle has featured on postage stamps of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago; gold and silver Royal Mint coins for the Central Bank of Barbados, International Cricket trophies and Man of the Match awards; and has appeared in publications including Muscular Learning: Cricket and Education in the Making of the British West Indies by Professor Clem Seecheran and Afro-Creole by Professor R D E Burton.
   This is the first time that the buckle has appeared at auction.
   Clive Williams and his daughter, Debora, are available for limited interview.
   **********
   For further information or to request an interview with Clive or Debora Williams, please contact Leonora Oldfield on 020 7468 5874 or leonora.oldfield@bonhams.com
   NOTES FOR EDITORS
   Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to http://www.bonhams.com.

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2. 

   ac

   January 16, 2012 at 7:17 am

   
   

   This kind of information is priceless and it only reinforces what the Topic is all about. it is a shame that only a privilege few would have access to viewing it in the future.

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3. 

   lemuel

   January 16, 2012 at 8:31 am

   
   

   This heritage and cultural thing is for those people who are well off and can afford the luxury of pursuing its endeavors. How can a poor family be expected to appreciate or be involved in this cultural and heritage thing when daily they struggle to put food on the table. The other part of their struggle is finding the basic necessities for their family. Don’t be fooled by the wanna bees who follow in the tow of this cultural and heritage thing when in fact 99% of them can not even afford to. It is like the lovely talk surrounding the spoils of tourism; those who actually work their hearts and guts out do not fully benefit form its proceeds.

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4. 

   Colonel Buggy

   January 16, 2012 at 1:07 pm

   
   

   But isn’t it a shame that one of the major and upscale tourism entities in Barbados,namely Sandy Lane has earmarked and offered the Government of Barbados some 3 Million Dollars for a school for those with special needs, only to have the govermnent sit on it for almost a year. Isn’t it equally as shame to hear the Minister of Education lamenting that the government has no land to accommodate this worth venture, and set out to appeal, no,. beg someone in Barbados to give the government a piece of land. Is this not the same Minister who had no problems acquiring land for the purpose of sports fields and football stadium?
   Isn’t it equally as shame that 90 % of the people in Barbados ,who own land and are proud to proclaim, at least every November, that ” these fields and hills beyond recall, are now our very own,” did not step forward to donate any land, leaving it once again up to Sir Charles Williams.
   What about all of that land all across the island ,owned by various government departments,and most of which are covered in Bush? What about those pieces of land owned especially by the Anglican Church?
   Perhaps we should change our national motto to, “I am all right Jack, to hell with you.” or ” Keep wha ya got and ketch wha ya can.”

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