The house

We buy the hand,
not the century

The Moroccan Odyssey exists because of a particular kind of disappointment: walking through a market full of objects that look old and finding almost nothing made by a person who cared. Casting is quick. Stamping is quicker. Chasing a garland into the neck of a brass horse, freehand, with a hammer and a punch, takes a day and a decade of practice.

So the rule here is narrow. We buy evidence of the hand — the wandering line, the planishing mark, the repair someone made because the object was worth repairing. Age helps, but age alone has never been the point.

What we end up with is small. Eleven pieces at the time of writing. Each is photographed as it is, described as it is, and sold once.

The keyhole arch, the palm, the khatim and the zellige floor

What the crest means

Four symbols,
one promise

The arch

Fer à cheval

The keyhole doorway that frames every riad and every mosque wall from Fez to Essaouira. It is how a Moroccan building says come in.

The palm

Water, and shade

In the south a palm means a well. It is the oldest promise in the country: that there is something worth stopping for.

The star

Khatim, the seal

Eight points, drawn from two overlaid squares. It is struck into the centre of the brass tray in this collection and into a thousand floors.

The floor

Zellige

Hand-cut, glazed, laid tile by tile. All Moroccan geometry begins here, and so does our idea of what "made properly" means.

Provenance & condition

How we describe things

Dating an undocumented object honestly means saying what you can see. We attribute by form, technique and finish — how a piece was raised, how the tinning has worn, whether the engraving was cut or stamped — and we tell you that is what we are doing. Where we do not know, we say attributed, and where we are guessing we do not guess in print.

Condition is written the same way. Losses to enamel, wear through tinning, casting marks and honest denting are listed in the description, because those are the things that would annoy you if they arrived unannounced. Full measurements and a detailed condition report go out with every enquiry, and we will take extra photographs of anything you want to see closely.

Shipping & returns

Getting it to you intact

Everything is double-boxed with the object suspended away from the walls of the outer carton. Glass, enamel and detachable parts are wrapped and packed separately. All shipments are tracked and insured for the full purchase price.

Because brass and copper are heavy and destinations vary enormously, shipping is quoted rather than flat-rated. Reserve the piece and a quote for your address follows by return, normally within one working day. You may cancel at that point at no cost.

If a piece is not as described, return it within fourteen days in its original packing for a full refund including the outbound shipping. If it simply is not for you, return it within fourteen days and we refund the piece.

Caring for brass

Mostly, leave it alone

Patina is the record of an object's life and it cannot be put back once it has been polished off. Value in antique brass and copper sits in that surface far more often than in a mirror finish. Dust with a dry, soft cloth and stop there.

If you want a brighter face, use a wadding polish sparingly and never an abrasive paste or a wire wool. Keep polish away from enamel, which it will lift, and away from remaining tin plate, which is thin and irreplaceable. Anything with a glass shade should have the glass washed separately in warm soapy water and dried by hand.

Antique oil lamps are sold as decorative objects. Have any lamp checked by someone competent before you put fuel in it.

Come and look

Every piece is photographed from several angles, but nothing beats a specific question. Ask us anything about any of them.

The collection Write to us

We buy the hand,not the century

Four symbols,one promise