Schafer & Vater Figural Bottle - "Sad Clown with Pig" Start Price USD 49.99 Current Price USD 438.79 Time Left - Bid Count 13 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, August 30, 2008 End Time Saturday, September 06, 2008 Location Marblehead, MA See more about 'Schafer & Vater Figural Bottle - "Sad Clown with Pig"' Description  SCHAFER & VATER NOVELTY BOTTLESAD CLOWN AND SQUEALING PIGThis German Company is famous for its humorous flasks and bottles, as well as a wide range of hard paste porcelain items including, but not limited to dolls' heads, creamers, pitchers, hat pin holders, hair receivers, etc.  Their flasks, figurines and figural bottles were so popular that by 1910 items made by this factory were picked up and listed in the Sears & Roebuck Catalogue that had such widespread distribution across America in that time period.The "giveaway" bottles and flasks were all imported empty and then filled and given away as gifts by bars, liquor stores, at dances, by organizations, just to name a few sources.  Many were ordered as holiday gifts or advertising gimmicks and the manufacturer impressed or stamped the name of the business or group on the items before shipping.  Others used paper labels applied in the U.S.The figural liquor bottles were designed to make cocktail time a "good time"  As is understandable, they were most popular in the United States in the 1920's.SHAFER & VATER list a number of clowns in their inventory.  Some of them, including this one, are described as "Sad Clowns."  If you look at it carefully, it's not the clown that looks unhappy, but the poor pig he's holding who is having his tail "wound up like he's a music box" and seems to be squealing appropriately!The details on this bottle are EXQUISITE, artistically created....almost lush!  The bottle is decorated on all sides and looses nothing from the fact that it is all in shades of blue and white.Notice in particular the details of the grape vines, the bunches of grapes and flowers and the mandolin between the clown's legs.  You can see the texture to the "pompoms" of his buttons, the one on his hat and the two on the back of his jacket.  Notice the raised and incised details of the stump he leans against and the depth to the ruffles of the clown collar around his neck.  His facial features are a bit on the unsettling side, obvious because you can see him clearly from his raised eyebrows to his receding chin.  And the poor pig!  He's full of expression too.  I especially like his ears.The top of the hat is the stopper of this bottle.  It has a full cork which fits snugly.There is a mold number, "3857" I believe and the circle and crown company emblem incised on the white bisque bottom of the bottle.  It is not marked "Germany" but since only Great Britain required its imports to be marked with country of origin at the early part of the 1900's, it is not uncommon to find Schafer & Vater porcelains without the "Made in Germany" stamp.I can find no damages of any kind on this spectacular bottle.  It measures about 8 3/4" tall, about 4 3/4" from the toe of one buckled shoe to the other and is about 3 1/2" deep.  The bottle is roughly triangular in shape.Thank you for your interest in this item.  Please look for my other Schafer & Vater items and other porcelain bottles I have up for auction.  I am not an expert in this field, but I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.Feel free to email me. Place a Bid!