124. COOKIE JAR HEAD

Vintage cookie jars enjoyed a brief surge in popularity in the late '80s when they were rediscovered by nostalgia fans who appreciated them more for their decorative and creative design, shape and form than their utilitarian value. These new collectibles got a boost when Andy Warhol's collection of period cookie jars were sold in an auction in 1987, for a staggering $250,000! There were character jars, advertising jars, animal-shaped jars, jars inspired by nursery rhymes, storybooks, pop culture icons and even everyday objects. form than their utilitarian value. Cookie jars were made by a variety of ceramic firms, the most popular of which were the McCoy, Metlock, Red Wing, Shawnee and Brush Pottery--all from the U.S. But Japanese firms also produced unusual hand-painted cookie jars like this one, in the shape of a boy's head, with his hat as the jar lid, complete with a rattan handle. Bangkal in Makati, that happy hunting ground of second-hand flotsam and jetsam, yielded this, err, kooky find!