Cherries! Cherries! Cherries! They are not what you think.

They are stone cherries, which are actually Italian marble fruit. In the antiques business and among collectors they are know as stone fruit. Long time readers of my blog may recall that I collect stone fruit. I have over 300 pieces and have probably sold at least a 100 more over the last 25 years.

My first purchase of stone fruit was a bowl's worth I found in the "treasure room" at a church rummage sale in Kennilworth, Illinois. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I was hooked. Those 15 pieces of stone fruit were the MOST expensive I ever bought.



In a conversation at the show last weekend one of my customers mentioned stone cherries and asked if I might have any "extras" I might want to sell.

So yesterday morning I started hunting around and found these bunches of cherries. I keep my stone fruit in a variety of wooden, ironstone, and yellowware bowls around the house.




Off went their pictures and now they will be moving to another Chicago suburb where they will begin a new life with another collector. She is in love with stone cherries and is on a mission to fill a bowl. Won't a whole bowl of cherries look great?




My stone fruit is featured in a book called Jessie Walker's Country Decorating and in the the November, 2001 issue of Country Living Magazine on page 32.