Featured Lotus Blossom Shakers with Insects Japan?

Hi,
I picked this pair of shakers up and trying to find out more about them.
No marks, some sort of metal, maybe plated? I'm wondering if they are from Japan. The leaf/base is bent, do you think they were made like this or someone did it? The bends raise them up a bit, but not sure. Maybe early 1900s? They are 1"H. Maybe a pair of salt and pepper or two peppers missing the open salts?
Any information appreciated!
Thanks for looking

 

All I can tell you is - they're adorable!!

 

thanks bakers, I agree!

 

The wear on that right ones leaf sure makes me think they are silver ,besides , don't they just LOOK like silver ? Are they heavy ? Werent insects more an 1870s-80s thing ? Don't ask me why , but I get a british vibe ? I agree they are adorable as well .

 

They're adorable, but how the hell do you fill them?? They've got holes at both ends!!

 

Hi Shangas,
Most shakers have holes at both ends. If a shaker has holes at only one end how do you fill them? I think they are gorgeous.
greg

 

Yeah but it'd be so messy!!

 

wonderful!!!!

 

Do you fill your salt and pepper shakers from the top?

Those are super neat shakers, CX. Yes, maybe two peppers, but look more like salts.

 

I have some crystal salt & pepper shakers shaped like lighthouses that have openings only the in bottom. Most have screw tops, but there are a lot out there that don't.

 

She unscrewed the leaf on the bottom......

 

Cute as a "bug's ear"!!!!!

 

I love these. Insects were popular during the Art Nouveau period as well, especially the dragonfly. I think the bends were meant to be that way. Have you tested it for silver?

 

Not where I can check any references at the moment, but having the same number of same size holes would lean me toward pepperettes missing their salts. Something about them is ringing a bell in the recesses of my cluttered head, but can't seem to pin it down. They're Chrysanthemum buds and leaves rather than Lotus...

~Cheryl

 

I'm old but not quite 116. So not that familiar what other spices or solid condiments might be on a table towards the end of the Victorian era. Might these be for something other than S&P?

 

I didn't think they were lotus flowers either. I kept looking for artichoke shakers.

Using Cheryl's thought I found these. Scroll down.
These are sterling.

https://www.rubylane.com/item/78574...se-Chrysanthemum-Sterling-Salt-Pepper-Shakers

 

They are marvelous. I think that they are both peppers, and that salt corroded the hole areas of the matching salt shakers.
Just lovely.

 

Thank-you folks for all the replies I will have to get them tested to see if they are silver.
Shangas if you hold them at an angle not much will come out.
Guess I should learn my flowers, lol - thanks dragonfly!
Thanks for the listing cluttered! I notice that listing and the one below both say 1950s, I thought they would have been older
Looks like they are peppers, I found the open salts last night. The leaf on the bottom is bent like on mine too! It sold for $150 in 2008
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4998100_japanese-silver-sterling-salt-pepper-flower-bug

 

Very unusual and beautiful! Great find.

 

Still not where I can check my references on salts or Asian silver, but can't shake a feeling of familiarity on these (may have just been that I've run across them when shopping or researching my Mom's salt collection). Have little doubt that they are at least .925 fineness, and frankly, the lack of a 'Sterling' mark on a post WWII piece seems unlikely. Over the years have seen Japanese pieces bearing maker's or retailer's marks that couldn't date any later than the early 20th century, but also finding much later marks on identical or very similar items - as in many areas, there isn't always a narrow dating window. The figural 'Geisha' souvenir spoons are a perfect example, found bearing a variety of marks, from late Meiji to mid 20th century (they are pictured in an Asian goods catalog from around 1915-20)...

~Cheryl