PLACE REPRESENTED: Saint Malo , France
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A beautiful wooden wall ornament from Saint Malo the beautiful French walled city in Brittany on the French north coast. The figure central, Bertheleme, is striking but I know nothing about her. Perhaps she is a traditional woman of St Malo and Bertheleme is the artist? She is stunning regardless.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1962
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 21cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Opatija , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A nicely detailed ode to the small popular coastal resort town of Opatija. At the forefront is the “Maiden with the seagull” statue, originally built in the 1890s but replaced in 1956. https://www.visitopatija.com/en/maiden-with-the-seagull-p473
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2005
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm x 15cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Zagreb , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: Zagreb, the capital of Croatia done in the familiar pyrography (wood decorated with burn marks) style common to wooden wall plates in the region. The view of Zagreb cathedral (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and the Tower of St. Mary church is taken from lookout in front of the Lotrščak fort in the Upper town. I assume the outside of the plates are standardised to a number of designs and the pyrography scenic view is applied to the plate middle. I don’t know if there is one artist or (more likely) a group copying a scene to multiple plates but I have seen the same scene on other plates (like this one). They are the same scene but they are, also, entirely individual with small differences.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia (probably)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 29cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Rhodes , Greece
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands (a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey) of Greece. Depicted in the Palace of the Grand Master in the city of Rhodes. This is vivid.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: pottery
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: Probably Greece
DIMENSIONS: 26cm diameter
LOVRAN, CROATIA – Wall Ornament
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran, Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: I love these detailed souvenirs. Wood, shells and a picture of the old town of Lovran. This is vivid and makes me want to hop on a plane now. Lovran (or Laurana to the Italians, Lauran to the Austrians) is a small town on the Istrian peninsula on Croatia’s north coast and has been under many flags (Rome, Byzantium, The Franks, France, Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia, Croatian) in its history but is distinctly Adriatic southern Slav. – ie: Croatian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovran
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: wood , shell
MADE IN: Croatia probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 32cm long x 10cm wide
07PLACE REPRESENTED: Gibraltar
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Gibraltar … yet another British Territory (and city) nowhere near Britain. Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula (the south of Spain). Featured is the coat of arms, the Rock of Gibraltar, the Barbary macaque monkey and I assume, the National flower of Gibraltar which is the Candytuft. it doesn’t look like a Candytuft though it looks more like a Gibraltar Range Waratah which comes from Australia. I wonder if the designer used haphazard googling? Then again, what do I know about floriculture. By the way I think Albert Hammond (Gibraltar’s great musical export) should be on the plate.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Szentendre , Hungary
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Szentendre is a multi ethnic old riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. This is a nice piece of pottery relief. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szentendre
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: pottery
MADE IN: Hungary
MANUFACTURER: Kerámia dísztárgyak
DIMENSIONS: 12cm x 15cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Laos
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Very shiny gold wall ornament depicting the sites of Laos, “Land of a Million Elephants”. This, in the right sunlight, is blinding … just like some Laotians I know
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 13.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Split , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: Split, featuring St Dominius Cathedral, done in pyrography (wood decorated with burn marks) on a carved plate. St Dominius (Katedrala Svetog Duje) is located inside the gates of Diocletian’s Palace built in Roman times as the Mausoleum of Diocletian before being converted to a church in the 7th century. Mass is still held here today, making it one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the world still in use in its original structure.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia (probably)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 25cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: The Irish shillelagh is a walking stick or club used for walking and, errr clubbing? This one isn’t long enough to be a walking stick, unless you were a little person (the little people of Irish mythology?) and too ornate to be a club (I assume). So, it is purely decorative though would hurt if used for non-decorative purposes.
In the modern world, the shillelagh is recognised, especially in the Irish-American context, as a symbol of Irishness and populates the mascots and logos of many Irish associations and sports teams. This is one weapon that made the onto the plane and through customs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillelagh_(club)
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Ireland probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 44cm long x 11cm wide (at its widest)
