There were a lot of interesting things in the Soviet Union, and this also has to do with things, subjects. Many of them are generally unfamiliar to contemporaries. Someone saw them in old photographs or in the house of grandparents. But the fact that some products contain a small secret is not known to everyone. In particular, this applies to graceful, original porcelain figurines.
There are several such figurines that have not only aesthetic, but also practical function. True, at first glance, you can't even tell that there is something hidden in them. The authors did their best.
1. "Zatyshok" - a statuette in the Ukrainian national style
The author of this work is N. Lampeka, a sculptor. This is a rather rare thing, which was made in small quantities at the Kiev EKHZ in the seventies and eighties of the last century. In this regard, it is valuable for collectors. In antique shops and at a flea market, it costs 14,000-25,000 rubles.
"Zatyshok" is a Ukrainian name that translates as "comfort". It is interesting that the product is double, that is, both sides are front. Each of them has a complete separate composition, but connected with the second.
The whole figurine is a stove with a pipe. On one side of this stove stands, leaning against it, the grandfather with a mug of mash or kvass and talking to the cat. The latter, too, is perched near the stove. On the back of the furnace sits a grandmother who is spinning yarn on a spinning wheel. The height of the product is small - fourteen centimeters. On its bottom there is a factory hallmark, obligatory for those times, in the form of a capital letter "K".
And now about the hidden function. The secret of the product is its practical purpose. The fact is that this is not just a beautiful thing, but a candlestick. If you look closely at the stove tube, you can see that there is a place for a candle.
2. "Bird Sirin"
No less interesting porcelain thing, which at first glance is an ordinary piece of interior decor. The fabulous porcelain bird is the brainchild of the sculptor M. Moh. It was made at the Leningrad Porcelain Factory in the seventies and early eighties. Its size is even smaller than in the previous case. The height is eleven centimeters. Today on the market such a figurine costs one and a half rubles.
If we examine in more detail the patterns depicted on the bird's chest, then small holes become visible, which are harmoniously inscribed into the overall pattern - a floral ornament. That is, it is not just a figurine, but a container for pepper or salt. By purchasing two identical figurines, we will receive a set consisting of a salt shaker and a pepper shaker. It will become a real decoration of every dining table.
3. Clown driving a garden wheelbarrow
And again, this is not just a pretty little thing, but an object that has a specific function. In fact, this is an original ashtray designed for a group of people.
It consists of the main part in the form of a clown with a wheelbarrow and several small, equal-sized saucers with notches. The containers are removable, and the recesses are designed to accommodate smoking sticks. The containers are installed on top of each other and on the wheelbarrow. When the need arises, they are removed and distributed to those who want to smoke.
The author of the item is the sculptor V. Melnik. It was made from the mid-fifties to the seventies of the last century at the Polonsk art ceramics plant. The statuette is sixteen centimeters long, eight centimeters wide and seventeen centimeters high. This clown is estimated today at 1,000-7,000 rubles. the price depends on how many removable containers are preserved.
It will be equally interesting and useful to find out what 5 "Russian" things raise a lot of questions among foreigners.