PLACE REPRESENTED: Split , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A wood burnt etching (pokerwork or pyrography) of the Croatian seaside city of Split. Nothing says rustic like these pokerwork trinkets. This one depicts the Cathedral of Saint Domnius (known locally as the Saint Duja).
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown (probably locally)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18.5cm diameter.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Croatia
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: The familiar red and white Croatian checkerboard on a cap.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2005
MADE FROM: cotton
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: head size
PLACE REPRESENTED: Croatia
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: I assume this is a sokol (falcon) which is the national bird of Croatia … or, if it isn’t, it should be. There are buildings, songs, poems, foods, folkloric groups and all sorts of other things named after it.
And, though not identified as croatian as such this was bought there, somewhere around Lovran or Rijeka I recall.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Yugoslavia (as it then was) (probably handmade)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 21cm high , 15cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Croatia
ITEM: Ornamental minature.
NOTES: A minature traditional well, or bunar, in wood. Traditional working wells are still found all over Croatia. Every little rural house has one. This one is elaborate with a canopy and a bucket that goes up and down.
Okay, there is no place name depicted anywhere but it was bought there, around Lovran, I think.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: (the then) Yugoslavia
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran , Croatia
ITEM: Ornamental Minature
NOTES: A ornamental minature wine barrel with traditional handpainted design from Lovran on the Istrian peninsula.
Barrels, grapes (and drinking wine) are all well loved pursuits in the region … maybe that’s why there is a heart on the barrel.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia (then Yugoslavia)
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 10cm high , 10cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran , Croatia
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: I’m not sure what this is. Possibly something to hold a pen or a cigarette? Either way it is in wood adorned with traditional markings you see on a lot of Croatian souvenirs of the period.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Yugoslavia
MANUFACTURER: Meba, Zagreb
DIMENSIONS: 8cm high, 14cm wide, 11cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Coastal towns, Croatia
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: A great wooden wall plate with clock hand depicting various towns along Croatia’s coast: Lovran, Kotor, Koper, Dubrovnik. Simple, evocative and stylish. Home is where the heart is. Decidedly old world and probably not mass produced.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Yugoslavia (as it then was) (handmade, in part?)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 24cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Croatia
ITEM: Key Chain
NOTES: Croat colours and coat of arms. As most Europeans know “Hrvatska” is Croatian for “Croatia”.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2004
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 4.5cm x 3cm (the coat of arms part)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Pula , Croatia
ITEM: Religious Ornament
NOTES: The Blessed Virgin amongst shells with the town name written in (read: insert any town name). Actually, Pula is quite a spectacular mid-size Catholic Croatian coastal town.
Well, that explains the shells and the Blessed Virgin.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2004
MADE FROM: shells
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 10cm high, 10cm across
PLACE REPRESENTED: Istra, Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A simple yet telling wall hanging depicting the Croatian area of Istra as well as commonly seen objects in the area, all relating to wine, food and agriculture … naturally enough.
The area is, also, commonly referred to as Istria which is the Italian word for the area so the “Istra” depicted is a statement of Croatian Slavic-ness.
The Goat symbol at the top is the shield of Croatian Istra.
Istra is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea and is shared by three countries Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy tough the overwhelming majority of it is in Croatia.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: wood, steel.
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: Izvorni Istarski Suvenir Brcic, Visnjan, Croatia.
DIMENSIONS: 20cm tall, 15cm across