This is a rare antique figurine by Schafer & Vater which takes the form of a wee flat ceramic bottle or flask. He is classified as Dandy Ape, Colour Nipper (Animals)
It is fairly priced considering its age and rarity - and of course exceptional condition.
It is probably an item for the specialist collector of Schafer pieces - and I hadn't been able to source another.
The bottle takes the shape of a little comical little monkey who is dressed as a wine waiter.
He is wearing an orange "bus-boy" jacket, white flannel trousers and black shoes. He holds the bottle between his feet and pulls on the cork.
The front of the flask is brightly coloured - and all the paintwork is in excellent condition. The back is a simple brown colour that is glazed and I think it meant to resemble the trunk of a tree.
In really excellent condition with no damages.
The overall height is 6 inches. The width at the widest point is 3 3/4 inches. The depth is 1 1/2 inches.
The bottle flask is marked to the base with an impressed Schaffer and Vater star mark.
This is a rare bottle and is now nearly 100 years old.
This model does not come up for sale that often - and my asking price for it is certainly a fair one.
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 recognise 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 in 1972 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.
A hallmark of this pottery is the fine texture of the clay used in production. Mined locally, it was rich with kaolin and this resulted in a product with a velvety texture and very fine grain.