Pieces from the Ming Dynasty share space with never-circulated Russian money and ivory boxes from India. And Clarke knows the historical details of most everything.

"It's eccentric eclectic," Clarke says of his style. "People laugh at me just because of the weird stuff I have. But I don't like having something that someone else has."

He has a particular fascination with Asian artifacts and culture.

"It's just the age of the culture," he says. "The things they were able to do centuries before Western Europe ever existed."

But just because he's got lots of finely aged things doesn't mean there's no touching. He wants people to feel comfortable with the pieces.

"I don't mind taking it out and letting people hold it," Clarke says. "Because what other time do you get to see it and touch it and experience it?"

In the future, Clarke would like to donate his collection. He says that most likely they'll end up in a museum, "where lots of people can experience them."

Staff writer Lillia Callum-Penso can be reached at 298-3768.