Doggy bookends

Ceramic dog bookends
made in Japan 1950s

These doggy bookends- cocker spaniels, I believe, were made in the 50s. They both have a large hole in the base- which I always believed was for glazing/firing purposes – but no- apparently this hole allows the bookends to be filled with sand, and then corked to seal. The sand allows the bookends to have a heavier mass, and so withstand the forces of all the books. I had no idea.

The book ends are shown here with our burgeoning Observer book collection – they are just the right scale for the books. I have not filled the bookends with sand – but leave that to the next owner.

The bookends would suit a reader with a library, or – a cocker spaniel enthusiast. The doggy bookends are for sale: $AUD80

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Children’s figurine #50s style

Lustreware duck
made in Japan, 1950s

Following the fantastic lustreware duck jug recently posted; here is another lustreware duck. This is also from the 1950s- this being a dressed duck, with waistcoat and topcoat – but – strangely no wings [seem to be demurely tucked under those clothes.] The duck would have been bought for a children’s room; these anthropomorphic animals were very popular as gifts for children in the 50s and 60s.

The lustreware is seen on the topcoat, and as with the jug, all this was hand-painted. I’ve teamed the duck figurine- which is quite large- 170mm tall- with a little duck cup orphaned from a children’s tea set, also made in Japan at around the same time. Though just how he will pick up that cup is anyone’s guess!

The duck figurine is for sale: $AU35

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Happy Easter!

Vintage easter egg holder
made in Japan 1940s

Just in time for Easter, here is a timber easter egg holder: The cart is articulated and the wheels move as the chick pulls it along. The original pin holding the cart to the chicken has been amateurishly replaced with a pin, adding to the overall charm of the piece.

These egg-holders were made in the thousands, in Japan, and exported to countries who- in the 40s at least- celebrated Easter by the giving [and eating] of easter eggs. It is hand-painted and the egg would be placed in the cart by the country selling the Easter gift.

[Without an easter egg available I have styled the cart with a random racoon.] Given my propensity for kitsch, I love this little piece! and after all easter eggs have been consumed, you can see that it’s quite good for displaying random figurines.

The easter holder is for sale: $AU15
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Cookie jar

Cookie Shoppe cookie jar
made in Japan, 1960s

Here for your delectation is a cookie jar. Cookie jars are so collectable! This one is fashioned as an olde worlde cookie shoppe – look at the Tudor detailing and shingle roof!

The cookie jar was made in Japan in the 60s, and the lid and handle are all intact. It’s hand-painted, and stamped Japan on the base. All-in-all, a good cookie jar thing.

I haven’t collected any other cookie jars – this is a first for me. It’s kitsch – Japanese – and I love how it advertises its own use. It’s for cookies!

The cookie jar is for sale: $AU55

20s Mickey Mouse [sold]

Mickey Mouse brush holder
made in Japan, 1920s

You can date Mickey Mouse by his eyes: here Mickey is depicted in the traditional ‘pie-eyed’ way from the 20s and 30s, rather than the way he was drawn in the 70s. [‘Pie-eyed’ being a circular pupil shape with a pie-shaped cut-out.] This lovely ceramic Mickey is from the 20s- he is pie-eyed, hand-coloured and has a little box on his back to take a brush. [I whacked a flower in there; I like the way it looks like he is looking at it.]

I didn’t set out to collect Mickey Mouse – he is uber collectable – but seem now to have pieces from across the decades: a squeaky toy [made in England, 1950s] – a hand puppet [made in Korea, 1960s] and a Disney clock [made in Germany, 1970s.]

This 20s Mickey is for sale: $AU45

Super, super 8

Diamond Super 8 Editor
made in Japan, 1950s

Super 8 film is having a resurgence, and super 8 cameras and editors are being dusted off and put back into use. You only have to look at YouTube to see how many videos are being made using this fantastic 50s technology.

This Editor is fully working, and comes in its original box with splicer, spare bulb, reels of film and even splicing cement [not sure how good it will be after sixty-odd years but the box packing is fabulous.] It’s been tested by an electrician and deemed good to go.

Even if you don’t use the editor to – you know- edit, it is a beautiful piece of engineering that will lend industrial cred to any space.

The Editor [and assorted accoutrements] is for sale: $AU150

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Rustic 60s Dutch scene

Dutch scene, ceramic wall hanging
made in Japan 1960s

Here is a fabulous 3D ceramic wall hanging: a lovely Dutch scene, made, you know in Japan in the 60s. A bit of cross-cultural referencing.

It’s ready to hang- with hole and wire on the back…but can stand on its own two feet too. Very cleverly, those weird crossed logs on the base are legs!

The whole thing is 180 x 130mm, by 30mm deep. Hang or stand – the choice it up to you!

The Dutch scene is for sale: $AU35

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40s porcelain figurine

Porcelain figure,
made in Japan 1940s

This is quite a large figurine of a little girl and her duck; its 110mm high and unusually detailed for porcelain made in the 40s. It would have been made as part of the huge export market that sprang up in Japan imitating much older [and venerable] porcelain manufacturers in England.

This piece is unsigned so manufacturer is unknown, but the figurine has been made to replicate those of the well-known figurine maker, Beswick. So, it’s a repro piece from the 40s!

I’m not in the habit of collecting figurines; I occasionally do if I need a kitschy figurine for styling purposes. But I absolutely love this little girl and her duck, and her quintessentially 40s features. And I was rather taken with the detailing and the size of the piece- so unusual.

For porcelain collectors / figurine collectors; the figurine is for sale: $AU45

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Lusterware side plates

Lusterware harlequin plates,
made in Japan, 1950s

Here is a collection from a friend: lusterware plates, made in Japan in the 50s. My friend inherited them from her parents to whom they were given as a wedding gift. As is the wont of parents, especially parents in Australia in the 50s- the plates were never used, as they were “too good”.

The plates were too good to be used! They were passed down to my friend who has a much more modern sensibility than me [and obviously, her parents] – she didn’t exactly recoil when you showed me the plates, but she thought I might have more love for them than she did. By love I understood her to mean ‘space’ and ‘tolerance of lusterware’. Luckily, I do have both.

I love lusterware, especially Japan 50s lusterware- and I love the whole ‘harlequin’ ideal: each plate is a different colour, but they all have the same neat gilt edge- and are clearly a set. Sure, lusterware is kitschy : but it is also of its time: it represents newly glazing techniques and evokes the metallic & mechanistic ideals of the space age.

This set of six side plates is for sale: $AU60

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Miniature toby jug

Miniature toby jug
made in Japan, 1960s

This miniature jug hails from the 60s- from the time when Japan was a leading ceramic maker and was busy knocking-off old worldy antiques. It was at this time that the masses / new middle class were discovering antiques- and not being able to afford the real thing, were buying ‘new’ fakes by the millions.

This jug purports to be a pirate; it is hand-painted if somewhat crudely; you’d never mistake this for a real toby jug. The pirates’ hat has been cleverly fashioned to contain the pouring lip, and it looks as if he is roguishly looking up at it.

Start your fake toby jug collection today: the jug is for sale: $AU15

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