PLACE REPRESENTED: Crete , Greece
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: Greek plaster fridge magnet made to look a little like the white vernacular stone found all over the Greek islands including Crete and depicting the Minoan “Prince of Lilies” Fresco from Knossos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_the_Lilies
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: Plastic
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 5.5cm x 8cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Chile
ITEM: Coasters
NOTES: The copper tin industry in Chile is large and appears in all sorts of souvenirs. Here various Chilean activities and institutions are pressed into copper tin and placed onto wood (another big industry). This is quite effective and local.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: copper tin , wood
MADE IN: Chile (I assume)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9cm x 9cm (each coaster)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Townsville (specifically Flinders Street), Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: Flinders street in Townsville in North Queensland. Quite charming and some of Flinders street still looks like this (the buildings that is, not the roads and surrounds …councils are always ruing them).
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1950s
MADE FROM: china
MADE IN: England
MANUFACTURER: Royal Stafford
DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm x 11.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Costa Rica
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Some effort has gone into this. A large vivid wall ornament from Costa Rica in Central America depicting large vivid animals from Costa Rica – the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, the Blue Morpho butterfly, one of the local monkey species (perhaps the Central American Squirrel Monkey or the Spider Monkey), and the birds, the Scarlett Macaw and the Keel-billed Toucan. This hand painted ornament is errr large and vivid, and, ultimately, striking.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Costa Rica (probably)
MANUFACTURER: Flory (signed)
DIMENSIONS: 24.5cm x 36cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lough Corrib , Ireland
ITEM: Picture
NOTES: Lough Corrib is a large lake in west Ireland covering 176 km² and with 1,327 islands within its boundaries. This 3D picture (a picture with rocks and whatnot in the foreground) is quite vivid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_Corrib
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood , organic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 17.5cm x 16cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Edinburgh , Scotland
ITEM: Ni Nac Bowl
NOTES: The capital of Scotland and the national flower of Scotland, the thistle, remembered in this simple though quite stylish and nicely glazed piece of pottery.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: pottery
MADE IN: Scotland probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: New Zealand
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Maori traditional drawing drawn on wood. I ain’t arguing with him.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: I would be surprised if it wasn’t made in New Zealand, but who knows.
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9.5cm across , 22cm from top to bottom
PLACE REPRESENTED: Opatija , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A small wall ornament with a picture of the popular tourist waterfront in the town of Opatija on Croatia’s north coast.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia probably
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hawaii , USA
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: The Hawaiian “God of Winner” or “Winner God” is one of the Hawaiian Tiki Gods. This one is meant to bless you with good fortune and if you keep this Tiki with you, according to the label, “you may always be a winner in all that you do”. Winner, all right. I suspect the real winner here is the Chinese manufacturing industry.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1998
MADE FROM: Hard resin
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: KC Comp
DIMENSIONS: 17cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Luque , Paraguay
ITEM: Small Wall Ornament
NOTES: A vivid hand painted senorita on her way to a ball to dance and break hearts, no doubt. Luque is a city in Paraguay which is now part of the capitals, Asunción, metropolitan area.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm diameter