PLACE REPRESENTED: Fiji
ITEM: Coasters
NOTES: Excellent contemporary tiki coasters (six of them) from Fiji.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood or board , plastic cork base.
MADE IN: ?
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm diameter (on the coasters) The holder is 10cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Meteopa , Greece
ITEM: Mug
NOTES: This looks like a hand crafted mug / cup with hand painted scenery. Meteopa is a mountaintop Greek Orthodox monastery – Just outside the village of Kastraki, Kastraki, Kalambaka, Greece
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: I’d be surprised if it wasn’t Greece.
MANUFACTURER: unknown, but hand painted.
DIMENSIONS: 8cm high x 7.5cm diameter opening at top high , 7.5cm diameter (opening at top)
Remember to click on the photos for detailed large images.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Eumundi, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: A dragonfly ashtray.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Fuzina , Croatia
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: Handmade and suitably earthy or woodsy in this case. A slice of wood with some creative use of pine cones. The basic pyrography “Uspomena iz Fuzina” means “A remembrance of Fuzina”. I’m not sure why the maker has chosen the historical Italian variation “Fuzina” rather than the contemporary Croatian “Fuzine”. A nice big piece.
More detail here: http://www.tz-fuzine.hr/view.asp?p=5&c=8
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 33cm high , 8cm across
Remember to click on the photos for detailed large images.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Budapest , Hungary
ITEM: Mini Stein
NOTES: A stein? This is very Austrian but perhaps not surprising given was one of the twin capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1998
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: ?
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 7cm high , 6cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran , Croatia
ITEM: Wall ornament
NOTES: I love these things. Handmade with a lot of detail and materials. Not bad for a postcard stuck to a piece of wood and then decorated. Very evocative, despite the fact the shells probably didn’t even come from the area depicted.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: wood , shell
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 30cm long , 10cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Rijeka , Croatia
ITEM: Clock
NOTES: A battery run clock in stone in the shape of a boat (naturally enough for sea faring types like the Croats) with a drawing of the clock tower from the old town in Rijeka. Rijeka, on the Croatian coast means “river”. Under the Italians the town was called “Fiume”, Italian for, err, river. The river isn’t very wide. Maybe they don’t have a word for “creek” in Croatian or Italian. The town is however a major port on the Adriatic and one of the centres of major shipbuilding.
This clock is very weighty and perhaps, today, would be considered to be some sort of weapon and not allowed in carry-on luggage.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1998
MADE FROM: stone
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: Suveniri Rimanic, Pazin, Croatia.
DIMENSIONS: 20cm high , 15cm across
ITEM: Wall Ornament
PLACE REPRESENTED: Velebit Mountains , Croatia
NOTES: A rustic depiction of the Croatian emblem on a slice of tree which is, no doubt, from the Velebit mountain range. This is simple and, because of it’s handcrafted nature, quite charming.
Quite aptly, perhaps, Croatia’s heart and soul lies in the Velebit mountain range which rises dramatically from the coast.
I can’t remember how much it cost but it was cheap and, thankfully, not “Made in China”.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: Wood
MADE IN: Croatia
MANUFACTURER: It’s signed “AE” and is clearly handmade.
DIMENSIONS: 9cm across x 16cm high