PERSONAL TREASURES

ANTIQUITIES

As you open the door of Dr. John Merkle’s 1890s Compton Heights home, it’s hard to settle your eyes on a single object. Your gaze darts from an enormous framed mirror, unearthed from a basement at Saint Louis University, to the stained glass window in the stairwell, or around a corner to dozens of Chinese funerary sculptures and, finally, down into the living room—mind the step—where they’re drawn to a collection of ancient Roman jewelry.

The semi-retired physician’s interest in collecting began early, spurred by classes in ancient history in grade school in the 1960s. “My buddies were collecting baseball cards, and I was collecting Roman coins,” says Merkle, 66, whose bedroom now features a display