odd opalescent ceramic item, made in Germany

I am asking this purely out of curiosity:

Does anyone know what this item is?

It's a listing on eBay (not mine) and I won't link to it, but I saw it & wondered what the heck it might be. There are no measurements in the listing.

It's described as: opalescent painted birds trinket dish or decor with Oriental designs marked "Made in Germany":



Thanks for any input!

 

a 4 pillar bud vase.....
no good for a trinket dish...u'd keep bumping into the pillars everytime u reached for something...

 

maybe it sat on a table in a German Chinese restaurant? Looks to be made to hold chopsticks?

 

Just an FYI, that type of finish is commonly referred to as "Lustreware"

 

if i remember correctly , chopsticks when not in use are to be laid down flat....thus all those chopstick rests....

 

I could see this on a ladies luncheon table with some flowers in the pillars and maybe some treats in the well. Boy THAT world is gone forever!

 

My first thought was a warming stand, with room for a tealight or chafing candle in the center (depending on the size). But the gold painted detail on the rims of the pillars makes me question that - it would wear very quickly with dishes or teapots being placed on top.

 

That opalescent lustreware was done a lot by Germany and Czechoslovakia, pre WWI.
It was also used by the home hobbiest during the same time period.

Reminds me of the pansy vase centerpieces. I think komo is correct in thinking center bud vase.

 

Don't know what it is really for, but, were it mine, there would be tall pale blue or pink candles in those corner pieces and in a little bowl in the middle would be (yes, indeed!) blue (or pink) pansies, and ivy trailing out across the table.

 

there's no drip pan for candles...........but it sounds nice..

 

Drip pan?

 

Thanks, all, for the input!

Like some of you, I thought flowers, too... But then, wouldn't they get in the way of whatever was in the middle? (Or maybe it's actually missing something - perhaps a little center vase of some sort?)

I agree that it wouldn't make a very good trinket dish! Candles? Hmmm, maybe, but those "pillar" things are square - sort of an odd shape for a candle base. Or maybe a pillar candle goes in the middle, with flowers at the sides? (Sounds pretty...)

I thought of maybe a warming stand, too - but then, why would the side pieces be open at the top? (and yes, the finish would likely get destroyed.)

Chopsticks? Probably not, but then again, why not?!

I was even trying to picture it on a lady's dressing table - perhaps with little brushes in the "pillars" - but that didn't quite seem right, either.

Well, maybe we will never know for sure. The darn thing just caught my attention, and I thought I was being dim by not knowing what it was!

Thanks again, everybody!

 

for the wax...

 

Drip pan?

Bobeche

 

I think it might be a tulip vase. Some of them have several compartments and give support to those floppy stems.

 

Well, Book, I thought of that, too, but wouldn't the ashes just spill out the sides?

 

Very minor comment. Opalescent does not equate to iridescent. One is glass the other is ceramic. although glass can be iridescent, I don't believe ceramics can be opalescent.

 

Not if there was a glass ashtray insert

 

naaaah...you'd have to dodge towers when flicking or butting out.....it would never work..........