PLACE REPRESENTED: Port Macquarie, New South Wales , Australia
ITEM: Pen Holder
NOTES: A nice wooden pen holder made from a branch segment with local seeds, nuts and leaves decorating the front. I like this.
Port Macquarie is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Macquarie
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Australia, I suspect
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9cm across x 7cm deep x 7.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Abruzzo , Italy
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: “Ricordo d’ Abruzzo”. A “Rembrance of Abruzzo. A contented woman working in a kitchen. A celebration of the traditional. Abruzzo is a region of Italy in Southern Italy (around the middle of the boot on the eastern side). Fiercely proud (at least the ones I know are) they are neither northern nor southern. Quite beautiful the area is less well known to foreign tourists than the usual staples of Italian tourism.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: Copper
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 24cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Australia
ITEM: Souvenir Spoon
NOTES: The Eureka flag depicting the Southern Cross constellation. Hoisted first in Victoria in 1854 as the war flag of the Eureka Rebellion against English tyranny it is the unofficial symbol of the Australian Republican movement. It has over the years become the symbol for Australian rebellion generally and has been used by the political left extensively. Unions like the Builders Labourer Federation, parties like The Australian Communist Party, The Australian Labour Party and the Labour movement generally have all waved the flag officially or unofficially. Oddly, the same flag has more recently been used by racist groups, the far right and the Australian neo-Nazis as well as bikers and bogans (a common unsophisticated person), the latter two by way of tattoos.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm length
PLACE REPRESENTED: New York City , USA
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: Plate of NYC depicting various icons: the Empire State Building, the United Nations Building, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the RCA Building, Madison Square Garden, the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 20cm diameter
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: 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: 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: 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.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Castiglione di Sicilia , Italy
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: Castiglione di Sicilia is a small municipality 160 km east of Palermo in Sicily. The structure depected is Cannizzu (XII century), a cylindrical tower, which is the symbol of the town of Castiglione.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 14cm diameter x 4cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Rijeka , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: The Kapucinska crkva Gospe Lurdske or The Capuchin Church of Our Lady of Lourdes located on Žabica Square in Rijeka. Built between 1904 – 1929 by the Capuchin nuns this is an impressive red and white Catholic church with a neo-Gothic facade. http://www.kvarner.hr/hodocastiti-svetistima/en/lady-lourd.html
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia (probably) (or the then Yugoslavia)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 27cm diameter
