DIA70xL160mm, China
This is a Chinese version of the thaumatrope; by pulling the string that is attached to the axial of the circular frame, the image inside the frame will turn over and over again. The 2 images from both side of the frame will appear as 1 due to the persistence of vision. The momentum of the spin will cause the axial to spin at the reverse direction result in a prolong animation.
click on me!
L800xW60mm, Hong Kong
This is the famous “White Bone Yin Yang Sword” which I believe belonged to my cousin. It was made at the time when fathers would still make toys for the kids then giving them psp, ipad or nds. The sword is based on the one in the movie “White Bone Yin Yang Sword” staring the teen idol Connie Chan Po Chu. I am sure many of you would have the Lightsaber, the Star War version of the handmade toy.
DIA60xH80mm, China
Today is the 5th day of the Chinese New Year and the day for welcoming the Money God, the Money God has his four assistants will visit and bless randomly a handful of people. On the day of the 5th, you might notice that shops and households trying to draw their attention with fire crackers or food in front of their statue (or nowadays the free posters that come with the weekly magazine).
It is a toy for the drinking game since the Tang dynasty, after wobbling, the person he is looking at will have to drink up! This money god roly poly toy is made of paper with clay as a weight.
DIA50mm, China
Yes yes I know tigers dont squeak, they roar … This toy is in keeping with the Chinese fascination of tiger as a protector guardian of children and child’s tiger squeak… This tiger is made out of 2 pieces of clay, a bit like an oreo cookie, however it is a thin leather or toughen paper that is sandwich in between. A squeak is fixed in the bottom layer, by moving the 2 parts a squeak will be sound. It is known as the leather tiger. It happens in China all the air blower tools, from bellow to a camera len blower are all called the leather tiger, can this only be a coincident? or would it be some tribute to this toy. Sadly, this toy is not longer popular for today’s children and are quite hard to find.
W60xH120mm, China
These opera dolls have been a popular toy in Beijing since the Qing dynasty. The head and the base of the doll is made of clay, the structure with the stem of millet covered with a beautifully painted paper. However, the most important construction of the dolls are the 2mm tall bristle at the bottom of the base. They will be played on a bronze tea tray. By tapping lightly on the tray, the figurines would move in a rhythmic fashion just as they would in the beijing opera. Apart from being a toy, they are also used for performance, “bronze tea tray opera”; the required characters for the opera would be put on the tray, matched with real life opera singing.
W80xL150xH100mm
We need your help! This is a paper mache pig that was acquired a long long time ago, the origin of this item is unclear. Perhaps someone can enlighten us? Korean? Thai? Chinese? Vietnamese?
L230mm, China
Tin toy of the Zeppelin air ship. Tin toy was introduced into China at the turn of the century and by the 20s China has started producing tin toy. As they are durable and cheap they became the toy for many generations.
H40xW40mm, China
TRICK OR TREAT?
This is part of a set of the zodiac animals clay gu gu toy. They are called gu gu because they are whistle toy and makes “gu gu” sound. Traditionally families would gather to hand build them together after the harvest season in the winter. The gu gu normally has a black base colour and highlighted with bright colours but unlike the other clay toys they are glazed and then fired. Happy Halloween!
L500mm, China
This is a snake toy made of section of small bamboo, with each section held together by a small metal rod. Holding on to the tail section, it will become animated and move like a real snake ready to attack!
Mountain Folkcraft 