188. Head's Up: BOY'S HEAD VASE

Male head vases are rarer than ladies', so when I saw this 50s boy's floral head vase at a Kamuning thrift shop, I just had to bring it home. I don't know, but there seems to be a certain holiday feel to this ceramic vase--maybe I could use it this coming Xmas. This, by the way, was made by Relpo, and is about 7 inches high. Relpo was a leading maker of quality decoratives in the 50s and it identified its works with a paper label--which remains intact on the bottom of this vase. This head vase is well-made and delicately painted. I looked up the value of this vase in a 1998 price guide, and was surprised that it already cost $65 in pristine condition 13 years ago. Of course, I got my flower boy for half of that. You should see how much head vases go for now--at www.antiqueheadvases.com, there's one priced at $1,600 and a couple more at $1200, $800! Crazy but true. Definitely, my head-hunting days aren't over!

116. HEAD OF THE CLASS

Now this this blonde lady made it to her graduation! Again another head vase from Japan dressed in a rare graduation toga outft. It is pretty obvious that this was meant to be a gift idea for would-be graduates and honor students..but what's with the red toga matched with a spangled tie? Made in the 1950s, it's another kitsch-y find from my favorite Makati Cinema Square dealer--where the only thing less is the price!

101. NUN'S HEAD REVISITED

A lady head vase? More like a Mother Superior Head Vase! This is actually a cheap, Japan-made planter, from the 1960s. These are harder to find than the generic lady heads, but are made pretty much the same way--thick, protruding black eyelashes included. Unfortunately, some of the nun's well-polished fingertips have broken off, but this does not detract to the duotone beauty of this nice thrift shop find.

79. 50s Flash: PINK VASE

This strangely shaped ceramic vase with asymmetric handles is a quintessential 50s kitsch! Everything from its free form, the flowery relief decoration, the fluted opening, the weird Japanese-style base to the trashy pale pink color sprayed with gold glitter--all scream bad taste. Which is why, I LOVE it!

5. HEAD HUNTING FOR LADIES

Heads up on these kookie flower vases!
Made since the 1940s all the way to the 1970s, lady head vases continue to be today’s hot, hot collectibles, commanding from $50 to an astounding $1,000! They're made in pretty much the same way--with closed, flirty eyes and with an opening either on top or the back of the head. They were made mostly in Japan, the U.S. and Britain. Well, I got these favorites for just a few hundred pesos-- I think the cheapest was about 80 pesos (pictured above), from my good old favorite haunt, Makati Cinema Square.

This is called by collectors the "Scarlett Head Vase', becase of its supposedly marked resemblance to Scarlett O'Hara of "Gone with the Wind". (Well, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn). I got this in a main street antique shop in Metuchen, NJ, owned by a sweet old lady, Mrs. Evelyn Fincke.
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I found a pair of these vases in Chatuchak, Bangkok--Southeast Asia's biggest flea market. I think the Thai local who got these was charmed by the Siamese-inspired headdress.
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Collectors say that ethnic-type vases like this Nubian head vase are rare, but I did not have to look far. I found this vase on my aunt's dresser which she used to hold her combs and brushes. When my dear aunt passed away, this came to my possession.
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This is a very large head that came with faux pearl jewelry. Very pretty! And the windswept, fly away 'do is so period. Found in a local thrift shop.

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