This is another of my very rare Schafer & Vater antique smoking collectables.
It is one of a series of quirky smoking heads, strange ashtrays, and novelty match holders - that I have for sale in my online shop.
They are all very rare and hard to source and are special items for the specialist collector of early 20th-century Schafer and Vater porcelain models.
This little figure is a very rare and most collectable one - reflected in my price here. I haven't even seen another one like this catalogued as yet!
The model takes the form of a miniature ashtray - you pop your cigarette in his mouth. His mouth is open and he is a bit gap-toothed (in the creation.. not damages!). The inside is the customary orange colour.
I think that he might be some sort of a merchant sailor - as he has a cap with a short shade brim to the front. He has a ginger straggly beard and long moustache - that an old salt might have. Although I haven't been able to find another as yet - he is definitely an antique Schafer one - he has a little star mark on the base.
He has no damages (except for a tiny loss to his cap brim - possibly done in the making) and is beautifully modelled. Taken lots of images to that you can see all his delicate features.
Perhaps its miniature size has resulted in not so many surviving.
From top to bottom he measures only 2 3/4 inches. From the tip of his moustache to the other tip - he is just over 2 1/2 inches.
It is in good vintage condition.
These antique pieces of German smoking paraphernalia are now hard to find.
Displays very well. POSTAGE WOULD BE WITH UK Royal Mail Tracked - this would cost £4.95. Postal discounts would apply - any overpayment in postage would be refunded. to you.
HISTORY: The company was founded by Gustave Schaefer and Guenther Vater in Germany in 1890. By 1896 the business was so successful that they were able to expand to the List Porcelain Factory at Neuhaus.
The company aimed at producing high-quality items in hard-paste porcelain - and it made luxury items, including figurines and dolls' heads. They also produced a range of soft-paste porcelain items such as small liquor bottles which were distributed in pubs etc.
Schafer & Vater were better known for their comical and figural items. They manufactured these in teapots, jugs, creamers, bottles, match strikers, and planters, with a backstamp impressed with a crown above an 'R' in a star. 'Made in Germany' was sometimes stamped in black. Occasionally, Schafer & Vater pieces appear without any stamps or reference to their origin, but they are easy to recognize due to their characteristics and unique craftsmanship, and unusual design.
Their wonderful novelty figures were always very popular in the States - and by 1910 the American firm of Sears Roebuck & Co began to import and distribute Schafer & Vater pottery items.
In 1913 Paul Schafer had taken over from his father and, working alongside Gunther Vater, built up a successful workforce of around 200 people. In 1918 the factory was destroyed by fire and they set up a new factory to resume production.
Sadly, the firm closed in 1962 and in1972 the East German government assumed full control of the vacant factory and their records and moulds were destroyed - so no further figures could be produced.