BYRON BAY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA – Ornament

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: A caricature of the happy go lucky surfer, board in hand. This is naff but quite charming and would do your head in if you fully embraced surfing culture’s recreational habits. Or, is that a stereotype?

Who knows how many of these have been sold.

Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far north-eastern corner of the state of New South Wales and is a favourite destination for international backpackers.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s

MADE FROM: steel , wood

MADE IN: unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm high x 7cm x 7cm base.

NICARAGUA – Ornaments

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Nicaragua

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: The three wise monkeys who embody the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” are, here, transposed to Nicaragua. It’s not unusual for cultures to adapt the proverb to their culture by using a more familiar symbol. Buddahs, owls, people and all sorts of symbols have been used. Here, the Nicaraguans have gone for an a Native American Indian look or perhaps a Aztec look (even though the Aztecs were to the north of Nicaragua in Mexico). These double up as tea light candle holders. The ornaments are signed by Jose Gutierrez, a Nicaraguan potter from the village of San Juan de Oriente. Having said that this is a little rough and could be a knock off.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2016

MADE FROM: clay

MADE IN: Nicaragua

MANUFACTURER: Jose Gutierrez

DIMENSIONS:16cm tall, 8cm wide (each)

FIJI – Ornament

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Fiji Islands

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: A stand up very simple wood carving of a traditional (?) Fijian beach village. Despite the handcraft in this, the slightly slapdash nature indicates these must have been churned out at a rapid pace. It’s as if the craftsman could see the boat load of tourists on the horizon.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN: Fiji (probably)

MANUFACTURER: Handmade

DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm across x 12cm high

SEYCHELLES – Ornament

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Seychelles

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: A little handcrafted wooden turtle with “Seycheles” written on it’s shell. It’s not heavy enbough to be a paperweight but it is cute. The Seychelles (or the Seychelle Islands) are a 155 island country archipelago in of the coast of eastern Africa.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN: unknown

MANUFACTURER: locally probably

DIMENSIONS: 11cm long x 11cm wide

IRELAND – Ornament

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: A ornamental Irish Harp. The Irish Harp is one of the most famous of all Irish instruments. The sticker on the back reads “The history of the Irish Harp is carved into the standing stones of Celtic Ireland. Immortalised in bardic poetry and manuscripts dating back to 540AD. Island Turf Crafts have recreated the harp in turf cut from Irish boglands”. Island Turf Crafts gifts are hand crafted using 5,000 year old Irish peat from some of Europe’s oldest bog lands.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s

MADE FROM: Peat

MADE IN: Ireland

MANUFACTURER: http://www.islandturfcrafts.com

DIMENSIONS: 18cm high x 10cm at it’s widest

HOLLAND – Ornament

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Holland

ITEM: Ornamental Minature

NOTES: A beautiful detailed boat, err clog. The Dutch are famous for their clogs and their seafaring trade (if that’s what you call it) so why not combine the two? The result: the clog boat! Paint some windmills on the clog, err hull, throw in some flags and you have a perfect Dutch tourist trinket.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: wood , paper

MADE IN: unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 12cm long x 14cm high x 5cm wide

CROATIA – Ornament

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Frankie

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

AIRLIE BEACH, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Ornament

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Airlie Beach, Queensland , Australia

ITEM: Wooden Ornament

NOTES: A small wooden (bamboo naturally) ornamental boat which is, Vietnamese or South East Asian in appearance despite “Airlie Beach” being printed on the paddle. Aaaahhhh, overstock.

Perhaps it was a comment on the waves (sic) of boat people who came to Australia from Vietnam in the late 1970s. It is simple but wonderfully detailed.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN: unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 18cm long , 6cm high , 5cm wide (at its widest point)

LOVRAN, CROATIA – Wooden Ornament

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Frankie

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

BANGLADESH – Wooden Ornament

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Frankie

PLACE REPRESENTED: Bangladesh

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: A ornament that is both hand crafted and machine made which shows the Bangladeshi flag at full mast, a relief of Bangladesh, and all of its 64 districts named.

This is very handy if you want to quickly find out where the, say, Barguna district is, and you don’t have the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_of_Bangladesh

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN: Bangladesh (probably)

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 18.5cm across X 22.5cm high

TRAVEL TRINKETS

Tourist souvenirs from around the world

Category Archives: Ornament

BYRON BAY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA – Ornament

NICARAGUA – Ornaments

FIJI – Ornament

SEYCHELLES – Ornament

IRELAND – Ornament

HOLLAND – Ornament

CROATIA – Ornament

AIRLIE BEACH, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Ornament

LOVRAN, CROATIA – Wooden Ornament

BANGLADESH – Wooden Ornament