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.
The model takes the form of a wee novelty ashtray - you pop your cigarette in his mouth. It also functions as a decorative match holder - with pierced holes all around the back area of my little fat piggie.
This piece is not titled - but comes from the animals match holder series.
The pig is certainly a very rotund one and uber cute! He has two little feet which stick out at the front. His mouth is wide open and the interior has been painted in a vibrant orange - that you often find on these items. He has a little upturned snout and winks at you with one eye. All the paintwork is original to the piece - and the eyes are in good condition with no rubbing.
He has two applied pointed ears - which on close inspection look like they have been applied to the main body section as separate pieces. There seems to be a little thin join line around the base of each where it meets the main body section, Around the back is a tiny little curly tail. Mr Piggy sits on a dark brown coloured triangular shaped base. There is a faint star shape impressed stamp on the base, as photographed.
Highly collectable wee chap. I love him!
He is a nice large size - measuring 3 1/2 inches. From the snout to the back is also 3 1/2 inches. The width of the plinth at the front is about 3 inches.
It is in good vintage condition. I have taken lots of photographs for your inspection - so that you can assess his condition etc.
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. Sadly - I am not able to post to EU countries due to Brexit.
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 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.