PLACE REPRESENTED: Fremantle, Western Australia , Australia
ITEM: Wall ornament
NOTES: A vivid wall ornament (or trivet) which captures the bright colours of a sunny beach going Australia. Kitschy and contemporary but quite nice … just like Fremantle, perhaps.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: Tile
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm x 15.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Malta
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: Small ashtray depicting Malta and its towns, though you would need a magnifying glass to read the same. This is quite vivid and nicely rustic for a small mass produced ceramic piece.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9cm diameter .
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: Australia
ITEM: Oven mitt aka oven glove
NOTES: An oven mitt with a map of Australia and some of the flora and fauna associated with it. Perhaps an oven mitt is appropriate … flora, fauna, global warming.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: cotton
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 30cm long x 15cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ingham, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Bottle Opener
NOTES: Ingham, Queensland. Famous for its sugar cane. Many a migrant spent their time cutting cane thereabouts. Well, many a non-English speaking migrant, to be specific. Well, many a Italian, Croatian, Hungarian, etc etc. So many Italians worked and settled in the area during the last century, but especially during the 1950s and 1960s that Ingham is known as “Little Italy” and has an “Italian-Australian” festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingham,_Queensland
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm long
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: Hudson, New Hampshire , USA
ITEM: Trivet
NOTES: Hudson, New Hampshire on the Merrimack River is famous for its crabs … or rather crab meals. You can put a pot of that on this handy trivet.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: tile, wood
MADE IN: USA
MANUFACTURER: Besheer Art Tile
DIMENSIONS: 15cm x , 15cm.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Israel
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: As I have said before, “I doubt this blog will create an international incident but in all fairness have decided to enter Jerusalem in as a “state” unto itself even though technically it is the capital of both Israel and Palestine. Two separate entries would throw out the neat order of my tables. So deal with it. Now, if only the middle east problem was as easy to solve”. This is a wonderful earthenware wall plate recognizes the duality (or triality if you are talking about religions and add in Christianity). At the front there seems to be an Orthodox Jew (wearing a traditional “Shtreimel” (or “Spodik”) hat on his head, playing a Jewish clarinet or flute which would have been typical in Klezmer bands. But, in the background amongst the other building there appear to be the traditional Muslim minarets (the slim towers attached to a mosque).
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 24cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Saigon , Vietnam
ITEM: Figurine
NOTES: A cute figurine of a Vietnamese girl. I have no idea if the clothing is traditional but she is certainly stylish.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2001
MADE FROM: material , wood
MADE IN: Vietnam no doubt
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm tall , 4.5cm diameter base
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hungary
ITEM: Coasters
NOTES: Great machine woven coasters from Hungary. This replicates the folk art / craft of years past. The familiar chili, used in so many Hungarian dishes is present. The coaster holder is quite nifty and very functional and you could see it sitting around a bottle of pálinka (a traditional fruit brandy). It never caught on with the Anglo’s.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: cotton
MADE IN: Hungary (probably)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 16cm wide x 24cm high (holder), 9cm diameter for the coasters.
