PLACE REPRESENTED:   Croatia

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: Technically this is from Yugoslavia (1972) but it was purchased in Croatia and clearly looks like a Croatian donkey. Doesn’t it?

A well detailed wood carving of the traditional Croatian form of transport of years past, the “magarac” … donkey. The donkey is carrying the obligatory barrel of wine as well as a bucket on each side.

The donkey is central to Croatian culture. Poems, stories and songs have been written about the donkey. Though not that fashionable anymore these trinkets from the 1970s show a clear line to Croatia recent, agrarian past.

Will the mythology survive the shock of the new that is the world post EU?

These carvings were prolific and came in different sizes and shapes.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1972

MADE FROM: wood , steel.

MADE IN:  Yugoslavia (as it then was).

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 18cm  high , 17cm long.

And there are others . The same size but with slightly different markings.

And of course, together;