PLACE REPRESENTED: Madrid , Spain
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: Madrid – a black fan, dancing. Fair enough. But this trinket is not really for hanging or sitting ….I’m not sure how you display this.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 14cm across , 8cm high .
PLACE REPRESENTED: Holland
ITEM: ornament
NOTES: Miniature clogs from Holland … naturally enough. Or maybe they are clogs for hamsters or mice? The Dutch are nothing if not efficient.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 3cm across , 7cm long each
PLACE REPRESENTED: Norfolk Island , Australia
ITEM: Salt & Pepper Shakers
NOTES: Norfolk Island depicted by the (I assume) Norfolk Pine and (I assume) the Bounty sailing ship (the one famed for the mutiny) which never actually went to Norfolk though some of its mutineers did or, it could be the HMS Resolution the ship Captain Cook commanded when he first discovered (White European discovery) the island in 1774.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8cm high x 4.5cm diameter (at largest)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Austria
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: A wall plate displaying (the ominous looking) Imperial coat of arms for Austria.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 19.5cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory , Australia
ITEM: Jigsaw
NOTES: The Telstra Tower in Canberra. Well it’s a nice change from the Houses of Parliament or the Australian War Memorial. It is only a small jigsaw … no doubt the houses of Parliament would be the 10000 piece one where the pieces don’t fit and, inevitably, the final piece is missing.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: cardboard
MADE IN: China (very little in Canberra seems to be made in Australia)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 17cm x 25cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Costa Maya , Mexico
ITEM: Key Holder
NOTES: I love this. Cactus, wood, tile. Costa Maya is a small tourist region on Mexico’s east coast. The cactus and desert scenery (as opposed to beaches and waves) with the region hand written up the side lead me to assume that the key holder could be adapted to any Mexican region. You know, not all Mexico is dry, sunny and dusty as depicted in (western) films. I still like this though.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: wood , tile
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm wide x 20cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: “Natural Irish Crafts”. Only the Irish could get away with sculpting something (here a Celtic harp) out of turf, or rather peat bog, and selling it to tourists.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: turf
MADE IN: Ireland
MANUFACTURER: Samhain Turf
DIMENSIONS: 19cm high x 13cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Australia
ITEM: Tote Bag
NOTES: Australia on a tote bag. At least someone had the good sense to include Tasmania, as well as other countries to the north. We are not an island. Well, we are, but I was speaking metaphorically.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 38cm wide x 30cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Samoa
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: Now, this fridge magnet I like. Wooden and hand painted in the shape of a turtle. The Independent State of Samoa is a island group in the south pacific.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Samoa, I suspect
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 6cm across x 6.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Western Australia , Australia
ITEM: Small Nic Nac Plate
NOTES: A small nic nac plate for the largest State in Australia. It depicts all the familiar motifs, the black swan, the local flowers including the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw, and the famous grasstree.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8cm diameter