- Oops! I dropped the ball!
The crime of making this vintage toddler-porn ashtray would have been compounded by leaving it in the thrift shop where it was discovered. As the cliche goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. But the details must be described: First, the mandrill-like posture. Second, the modeling of the face, which goes past the naive charm of Betty Boop to the point of genuine inbreeding. Note, finally, the pelvic thrust of the well-formed rump--the one detail Mr. Anonymous Ceramist really worked at. All adds to the confusion as to whether this is actually supposed to be the image of a diapered four year old, or a bikinied beach girl coquettishly flirting with the viewer. The latter is suggested by the sand-colored base--that and the fact of it being an ashtray; pre-schoolers, outside of the metropolitan San Jose area at least, aren't avid users of ashtrays. Comb the thrift shops: The hand that created this minor masterpiece of kewpie lust might also have sired further objects d'art!
