We’ve got a Kauri wood candle holder dated at over 30,000 years old, a present from a friend in NZ. It’s extremely tacky thanks to the cheap gold-metal fitting that’s been fastened into the candle hole. 33,000 years, and what is some lovely fine-grained wood got turned into artless cheap-looking tourist bollocks. There’s something profound in that about human nature.

posted by dowcrag at 10:50 AM on March 22