posted on June 7, 2001 05:47:29 AM
gravid & rca001: Correct spelling of that
"Chatch-ka" Yiddish word is "tchotchke."
I grew up in Southern California and had *never* heard it until I moved to the East
Coast. Generally used to describe bric-a-brac type items.
RestonRay: That's *ahem!* quite a find there.
For some reason, the round globe on the top
of the head just screams "1970's" to me.
(Round globe lighting fixtures of all kinds
seem to have been popular then--my former house in San Jose, CA, built in 1979,
had white globe fixtures *everywhere*, from the kitchen to the porch lights.) To me, it looks like something you would see in a hotel lobby or an "upscale" department store from the 1970's period.
posted on June 8, 2001 04:23:24 AM
janusaries wrote:
"gravid & rca001: Correct spelling of that 'Chatch-ka' Yiddish word is 'tchotchke.'
"I grew up in Southern California and had *never* heard it until I moved to the East Coast. Generally used to describe bric-a-brac type items."
Actually, the "proper" spelling of this word cannot be rendered precisely into English as neither Yiddish nor Russian (whence the Yiddish word comes) is written in the Roman alphabet.
Literally, a toy. Many figurative meanings, including some that are not quite polite. Certainly applied to bric-a-brac, but this item is simply too large to be a tchatchke, which is usually understood to be something which is displayed on a table, dresser, or shelf. (I'd call it a "dreck-orative" object, but that's probably too much of an inside joke.)
Definitely looks like something made to stand outside an Italian restaurant, and maybe a repro of that Roman soldier statue, but earlier than the 1970s. I vaguely remember stuff like that outside of Italian restaurants in the early 1960s. (I think all those Roman-themed movies, i.e. Charlton Heston's "Ben-Hur," may have been responsible for the popularity of items like this.)
posted on June 8, 2001 06:40:16 AM
Seriously, the piece couldn't be very old, since it is electric. The use of that type of bulb on the top of its head normally dates from the 1930's to date.
Beyond that, it is the ugliest thing I have almost ever seen, and that might be the way to approach it - that is:
OWN THE UGLIEST STATUE IN THE WORLD
Someone is sure to buy it, if for no other reason than it is DEFINITELY a conversation piece.
posted on June 12, 2001 12:09:02 PMThe donation of this item was from an anonymous source, who insists they remain anonymous, and would provide no provenance.
posted on June 12, 2001 01:15:08 PM
Well, it looks more Greco-Roman style than just Roman. Dressed rather Roman, but the pose looks a lot more Greek-style than Roman, at least what I remember from seeing in history books awhile back. Apollo occurred to me as well, with the sun symbol (not to mention the light on the head), but the clothing definitely seems wrong, and was Apollo portrayed in that effeminate a way? I suppose some Roman soldiers could have used a sun symbol, but I don't recall seeing bold crests on the belly. So the other thing the sun symbol reminds me of is the 1960s.
Altogether, it makes it look like a one-off attempt at fusing Greek, Roman, hippie, and Edison. It makes for a rather hideous combination, especially in its aged-looking appearance. If his left arm were holding a surfboard (that arm is being held just about right for that), it might actually be an improvement, because it would then look like an attempt at humor rather than... whatever the artist was attempting to do.
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
[ edited by dc9a320 on Jun 12, 2001 01:20 PM ]
posted on June 12, 2001 01:23:52 PM
Apollo was sometimes depicted in an effeminate way, because he was also considered a god of poetry.. That was my first thought too was Apollo because of the sun image...
posted on June 12, 2001 01:36:34 PM
Seeing this statue suddenly makes it seem possible someone will eventually dig out something even worse to put on eBay, say a statue (while we're on the subject) with ancient Egyptian headwear, Assyrian beard, Roman soldier garb with a crest, visible under a partly open Greek toga, holding an English shield in one hand, briefcase and surfboard in the other, with a curved sword and longbow hanging from his back, six-shooter at his side, deerskin leg coverings, plus Nike shoes, sunglasses, cigarette in his mouth, and tatoos. Oh, can't forget the crowning part -- a large light globe sitting on his head, of course.
[ edited by dc9a320 on Jun 12, 2001 01:37 PM ]
[ edited by dc9a320 on Jun 12, 2001 01:38 PM ]
posted on June 12, 2001 01:46:46 PMkatiyana: Good point, and the placement of the sun symbol on the belly does seem more familiar than I first thought. The garb could be as much Greek hoplite as Roman soldier, but I really can't remember offhand. The style of the pose still looks much more Greek than Roman, however, though the execution here still looks hokey (more akin to "dancing the Egyptian," or whatever than 1980s Bangles song was).
Even aside from the light globe, it still looks like some sort of reinterpretation rather than just a reproduction or knock-off of something, but I'm going off what I remember seeing in history books than in any artistic analysis. Reinterpreting Apollo with a light-globe could have seemed like a good idea I suppose, but this attempt does NOT work in my eyes.
[ edited by dc9a320 on Jun 12, 2001 01:49 PM ]
