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lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎12-09-2020

I could really use some help with this adorable little building. It's vintage and had a hand written sticker on the bottom that said made in Peru.

Dimensions: 3"T x 1 7/8"L x 1 1/2" W and weights 2.7 Ounces.

Is it a church? The huge chimney has me stumped, the open sides are making me think it might be a church.

I cannot find a single little building like this online, how would one search for similar? I've tried handmade stone house, church, building, miniature stone buildings, vintage handmade stone churches, etc., nothing at all comes up like this one.

I believe it is picture jasper, still not 100% sure on that either. Anyone have a clue on this little guy? I suspect it was a tourist souvenir from Peru, but I just don't know. Thank you in advance.

namele365 · ‎12-09-2020

I'd be inclined to agree with the jasper identification.

lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎12-09-2020

Thanks! I think so too on the jasper. I have no idea how to google this to bring up similar little stone built houses/church(?). I get little stone cottages and I found a few really rough looking folk art, but nothing like this little house.

I don't really know what to call it or what it was used for other than it is a miniature. Doll houses, model train layouts, frustrated, lol!

I tried Peru souvenirs and churches too 🙂

maxine*j · ‎12-10-2020

Well, I would have tried everything you have already tried, so not much to offer here.

My only random thought: Is that "chimney" hollow? If so, cone incense might be placed inside and the smoke from it come out the chimney.

argon38 · ‎12-10-2020

@lovefindingtreasures2 wrote:
It's vintage and had a hand written sticker on the bottom that said made in Peru.

I have no suggestions to make, but I would have left the sticker on. It could have been put there by the artist.

debora_34_ · ‎12-10-2020

Stickers help with dating. Which, in turn, helps with identification.

candd205 · ‎12-10-2020

Take a good picture of it without a cluttered background.

Open google.com/images

Click the little camera instead of typing in any search terms.

Attach the good picture you just took.

See if anything matches.

lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎12-13-2020

Hi Maxine,

No, the chimney is not hollow and an incense cone will not fit inside. That was a good idea though, I almost thought you may have nailed it 🙂

The little tag on the bottom wasn't original to the piece, it was a little sales sticker that she had written, "Made in Peru" on so I took it off. Others said, "From Chile", they were part of a stone carving collection.

Do you think it is a church? That's my thought, but that is one huge chimney!

lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎12-13-2020

Thanks argon38 🙂 Sticker was a sales sticker from the lady who had them, not part of the piece. Agreed, I would never remove a sticker, often the clue to solving the puzzle 🙂

Alas, this sticker was of no value, just happy it didn't etch the stone in any way.

lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎12-13-2020

Thanks @candd205 🙂 I'll give that a try too, I always forget to use Google images. Odd thing is, I cannot find a single little miniature building online anywhere that is flat stone fitted together like this church? House? It's so simple, yet I can't find anything like it. Nothing even close, I must have the wrong search criteria.

candd205 · ‎12-13-2020

To me it looks like a church, or a bird house.

argon38 · ‎12-13-2020

@lovefindingtreasures2 wrote:
Do you think it is a church? That's my thought, but that is one huge chimney!

Crematorium??

pipilo02 · ‎12-19-2020

Perhaps not a chimney but an artist's depiction of a church with a bell tower in Peru. Either that or I would buy a tall chimney; Peru at higher altitudes would be quite cold in the winter and not likely to have central heat in the remote areas.