PLACE REPRESENTED: Toronto , Canada
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A cheap plastic horseshoe good luck piece withToronto depicted in its center. What is this trying to say? Do you need luck when you go to Toronto or do you take it with you when you leave?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: plastic , steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 13.5cm high x 11.5cm across
PLACE REPRESENTED: Konstanz , Germany
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: Konstanz is located at the western end of Lake Constance (Konstanz – get it?), on the river Rhine, in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. This plate is rustic and but simple art from the 60s. Well the plate certainly dates pre 1993 where one of the small towers to the harbour entrance (as seen in center of the plate) was replaced by the controversial statue Imperia by sculptor Peter Lenk.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Germany (probably)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hibberdene , South Africa
ITEM: Minature Mug
NOTES: Hibberdene is a small coastal town on east coast of South Africa. The beaches are popular with tourists and with dolphins apparently.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 5cm high x 5cm diameter across bottom, 4cm diameter across top.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Roebuck Bay, Western Australia , Australia
ITEM: Tray
NOTES: Now this is remote.
A serving tray depicting native Australians in traditional gear striking a (John) Fordian pose for a “Coastal Scene, Roebuck Bay, Near Broome, N.W. W.A”.
Broome is situated on the traditional lands of the Yawuru people.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s (or 1950s)
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Willow
DIMENSIONS: 44.5cm x 32cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Rottweil , Germany
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: Rottweil is a city in south-west Germany.
Founded by the Romans it was a Free Imperial City (some self autonomy) for nearly 600 years. It’s appearance (at least in the old town) has changed very little from the 16th century. To the front of the plate is the marktbrunnen, or market fountain, in the heart of the old town which dates back to 1540 or thereabouts. Rottweil is also famous for the rottweiler dog bred here.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 25cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Fiji Islands
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: This trinket is not from Bula, Indonesia nor Bula, The Phillipines. It’s from Fiji and the “bula” is not a place but a famous local expression for “hello”.
I’m not sure why “hello” is on an object in the shape of a knife though … it’s hardly inviting.
Maybe tourists feel threatened and are more likely to buy when they are confronted by a local yelling “bula” and brandishing what appears to be a dagger?
I’m sure airlines won’t let you take this in carry-on luggage.
How many of these simple tourist trinkets can a local churn out in one hour?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Fiji (probably)
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 45cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Brisbane , Australia
ITEM: Paperweight
NOTES: A lump of marble in the shape of Australia celebrating World Expo 88 in Brisbane.
An event that (arguably) with the Commonwealth Games of 1982 put Brisbane on the map … though it led to a lot of forced evictions, and dodgy dealings for land along the Brisbane river.
The stone depicts amongst other things a monorail, which, much like the monorail in “The Simpsons”, has not been seen since.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1988
MADE FROM: marble
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm long x 12cm top to bottom x 2cm thick
PLACE REPRESENTED: Switzerland
ITEM: Decorative cow bell.
NOTES: This looks suspiciously similar to the Austrian decorative cowbell. My cynicism should be put to one side though because Switzerland and Austria are neighbours so there are bound to be similarities … in decorative cow bells at least.
The manufacturer has gone to the trouble of writing “Gruyeres” on the bell. Gruyères is in the west of Switzerland, hence the French sounding name. Of course the Swiss-German populace have a different name for the town, Greyerz.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel , leather , material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown.
DIMENSIONS: 14cm high (including strap) 6cm wide (bell)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hawaii , USA
ITEM: Hors d’oeuvres forks.
NOTES: Perfectly Hawaiian …. forks with pineapple handles sitting in a larger pineapple holder.
All I need is some hors d’oeuvres, the “Blue Hawaii” soundtrack, a pina colada, and a fan and I’m there.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2004
MADE FROM: hard resin plastic , steel
MADE IN: Vietnam
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 14cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Istra, Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A simple yet telling wall hanging depicting the Croatian area of Istra as well as commonly seen objects in the area, all relating to wine, food and agriculture … naturally enough.
The area is, also, commonly referred to as Istria which is the Italian word for the area so the “Istra” depicted is a statement of Croatian Slavic-ness.
The Goat symbol at the top is the shield of Croatian Istra.
Istra is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea and is shared by three countries Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy tough the overwhelming majority of it is in Croatia.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: wood, steel.
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: Izvorni Istarski Suvenir Brcic, Visnjan, Croatia.
DIMENSIONS: 20cm tall, 15cm across