A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Monday, July 26, 2010

Majolica Animal Humidors

Austrian cat humidor

One of the hottest areas of collecting in majolica is in majolica animal humidors.
These charming pieces were made by several different companies on the European continent, largely in Germany, Austria, France and Czechoslovakia.  Below is a trade ad showing a couple of them.


They were meant to be both useful and decorative with all of them allowing for the placement of a sponge in the lid to keep the tobacco moist.


In this economic downturn, it is one of the few areas in majolica that has not been dramatically impacted.

WS&S and majolica hippo humidor. Also made by Josef Strnact.






Where humidors were made in an endless variety of shapes and forms, the animals are the ones that have retained their popularity, particularly those of animals dressed as humans.







Schiller & Sons elephant humidor. Also made by Josef Strnact



Some animals are more popular than others like cats, dogs, frogs and monkeys.

















Eichwald majolica frog humidor










Eichwald dog humidor



Then there are the oddities like alligators, rabbits, lions, fish, turkeys, ducks and even foxes.



WS&S majolica alligator humidor







The prices vary with rarity. Humidors with frogs and elephants are popular but common so price for these will retail around the $200-$300 mark. More unusual or particularly desirable humidors like some of the dogs and cats will sell in the $300-$400 range. Rare or large humidors like the hare or monkey will sell upwards of $700.
The head humidors tend to sell at lower prices than the full body animals averaging about $150-$250 unless they are particularly large like the pig head. Then they will command prices upwards of $400.