Antique Black Forest 9" Bear, a Match, Spill or Cigar Holder, Inkwell? c. 1860 dishes The smooth jointing

The smooth jointing

and this one is perfect on pearls or on a red coral bead necklace

and keep the 11th as a spare

an ornate reticulated tableau on each with canted sides

The pattern number for the set is "RCD18"

Antique Black Forest 9" Bear, a Match, Spill or Cigar Holder, Inkwell? c. 1860 dishes The smooth jointingAntique 19th century hand carved Black Forest (Swiss German) carved bear, either originally to hold matches and rolled paper "spills" which were tools used routinely to light fires, hearth, candles. The long rolled paper wands of sorts would give an extension to the time it takes to move fire between candles of an evening, or to start a warming fire or cook stove. This bear's open log upon which he sits would have been where those rolled papers were