|
Mariefred, 11 September 2007
When the Swedish National Television show
Antikrundan
was coming to Mariefred, not far from Strangnas, we decided at once to
go there. Even the most unkempt of us "waste-oil-huggers" among us enjoy
watching this show.
("Antikrundan" translates approximately "The Antique Round". It probably
has a counterpart
in most countries; the whole set travels round the countryside and invites
the public to bring their antiques to be admired and valued)
Preparations and transport
The little tankette "Strv m/37" (Czech AH-IV-S) was a given,
and by now we are well trained in the art of loading it.
But we also wanted to bring something else, something more along
the lines of what people usually bring. Preferably something old.
And preferably something not quite self-evident and well known.
A member from the Officers' Club came to the rescue - "I'll get something from
the Mess."
Absolutely, that'll probably do, we thought.
|
|
Said and done, on the Tuesday morning we were four enthusiasts who
loaded up and went to Mariefred, where we halted a short distance
away from the set location to unload and then drive the last bit.
|
Vi stop and unload some distance away in order not to disturb.
|
|
We created a certain amount of excitement when we rolled in. The little
tankette is actually quite silent, so if driven slowly, you will usually
get rather close before people react.
|
The model 37 initially created some excitement.
|
|
The antiques experts Max Sjoberg and Knut Knutsson were first
on site - together with one or two photographers of course - and
they did not hesitate when given the invitation to get on board.
We gave the usual details about the tankette; that it is from 1937,
that there were 48 of this and 10 of a slightly larger type when
WWII broke out (and that was it, Swedens entire Tank Force in 1939),
that it was actually assembled in Sweden by the Czech company CKD and
that it has a top speed of 60 km/h (slightly less than 40 mph).
The engine is a six cylinder overhead valve engine from Volvo,
producing about 80 hp, the armament consists of two machine guns
(not installed!) and the armour is at most less than half an inch thick,
so the tankette doesn't weigh more than 4.5 metric tons.
Then were the slightly more intriguing details; how to start the
engine, how to steer and how to shift gears.
And after that briefing they did a little test drive there and then.
Afterwards, the enthusiastic crew got to answer the usual question:
How did it feel?
|
The crew of the day appreciated the drive...
|
...which they explained to all those who wondered.
|
|
Well, back to the object from the Officers' Mess!
It was the
Astrolabe which the not completely unknown regimental commander
Gustaf Adolf von Siegroth acquired to his Military Academy. von Siegroth
was active in the late 18th century, but the instrument is older than that.
Research was done during most of the day, both within and outside of
Sweden. The ambition was to make the evaluation as accurate as possible,
and the rarer the object the more difficult it is to find something
comparable.
We had noticed the interest during the day, and thought that we
might be able to raise our initial guess of "perhaps almost 100.000 SEK"
(about 10.000 EUR) to "several hundred thousand SEK".
Towards 5 o'clock pm it was our turn to have the verdict spelled out to us.
|
We had guessed it to be valuable, but not that valuable...
|
|
There we were, with the water and the palace in the background,
attentively listening to Bo Knutssons story. And we learned a
great deal about the enchanting object and its maker. And the
value, well, really? What does it matter? Such a neat, intricate
object - so beautiful in its own right...
But the crew of "Antikrundan" are skilled in the art of creating
a breathtaking climax:
-"Three-, four-, five hundred ... thousand ... Euros."
A number of chins dropped instantly.
|
The beautiful Astrolabe!
Show large image (1MB)
|
The Astrolabe from the Officers' Mess
It was only the background music that was missing. Surreal.
The principle
is apparently more than two thousand years old. The wings of history
slapped my cheek...
The Museum of the History
of Sciences has a very large
collection.
A wealth of information is also published there.
Click on the image to the left to view a larger one and enjoy the
artwork. The maker was a goldsmith.
Direct link to the TV-show in Mariefred.
|
|
|