Let's Play Oddball!

A bargain is not a bargain if you buy something you don't need and don't use. Yard sales are chock full of coffee grinders, espresso machines, bread machines and the like precisely because they seem like good ideas but in reality usually sit collecting dust in somebody's pantry. Those items are always bought with the best intentions. But what about all that stuff you just had to have even though you knew there was no rational need for it? I'm talking about cheesy, weird, strange or goofy stuff that you were inexplicably drawn to. Say, for instance...

I was at the Goodwill last weekend and saw these sitting on a shelf. I could just imagine them decorating the walls of a Hollywood bungalow circa 1950.



The price stickers are still on because the plates are cold painted and I don't want to damage them more than they already are. Can't just peel them, cant soak them so I need to figure out the best approach to removing them. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them once they're cleaned up. All I know is I had to have them. They were just too kitschy to pass up.

Another oddball in my collection is this:


This is called a pouron. You fill it with wine, grab the handle and pour the wine into your mouth from the spout. Most commonly found in the countryside of Spain.

Now of course, not everything weird and wacky is a bad deal. I bought this oddball in an auction box lot for $5.


This is something called a "figa".

The Figa (fee-gah) is a symbol of one of the age-old myths of Africa, this clenched-fist good-luck charm came to Brazil with its XVII century slave trade. As its memories paled over generations, belief in its powers to increase warriors' fertility also faded, but until nowadays it is prized by brazilians for luck, prosperity, and protection. Ranging from delicate earrings to meter-tall sculptures, Brazil's attractive figa may be carved from wood or stone, crafted from plain or precious metals, and even set with gems. The figa can be made into jewelry or sculptures (produced from plain wood or precious metals and gems), but the figa is now used purely for luck. The figa tradition is that to obtain luck from this symbol the figa must be received as a gift.

This quote fails to mention that making a figa with your fist is considered an obscene gesture. The "good luck" that it is supposed to convey is luck in conceiving. My figa was made of rosewood and decorated with brass and stones and measured about 8" in length. I had no idea what it was until I did the research. I wound up selling it for a handsome profit but it was the mystery of a strange wooden fist that drew it to me.

So what's your deal this week?