Berlin couple sells rare antiquities from around the world

DAILY TIMES
February 23, 2011

GERMANY--Coconut Bay Trading Co., a new shop in downtown Berlin, offers a seemingly endless array of antiques, jewelry, paintings, artifacts and curiosities from around the world. That inventory is made up of treasures Miles, a retired school teacher, has collected from all over the world. There are hand-painted Russian icons, Buddha figurines, ornate Indian jewelry as well as travel-sized religious shrines from various countries. Odder merchandise includes a hand-painted duck egg from Bali, a wooden harp from Indonesia, part of an opium bed and a scrimshaw fossilized walrus tusk. Many of the items, though, are religious artifacts of one kind or another, some close to 200 years old. "You don't have to be a religious zealot to appreciate the art in most religions," Miles said, pointing to a Tibetan Ghau, or traveling shrine. [link]