Topic: Mossware or Elfinware

[Lustrousstone]

Not everybody's cup of tea, these types of mossware or elfinware porcelain items are collectable. The more unusual, the better, for example a two part cheese dish. Unknown manufacturer, although some are marked with numbers. Believed to be German and late 19th/early 20th century. Rarely found without damage, sometimes pre-glazing damage. A toothbrush works wonders on the dust!

[josordoni]

I find them delightful - but then I love all miniature things.  The prices on mossware seem to range from the sublime to the completely ridiculous!

[Anne]

Christine I've not seen those before, what size are they? My late friend Jennifer would have loved them.

[Lustrousstone]

I think they were about 4-4.5 inches long, although the shoes are sometimes found at 6 in. They toddled off to the US along with a cheese dish I no longer have a photo of. Somewhere I have a basket with a double crossover handle that used to belong to my Nan. They are generally miniature items and most commonly found in these colours

[Anne]

That's larger than I expected, thanks Christine.  If you track the basket down please add a photo of that as well, as I'm fascinated by these.

[Lustrousstone]

They were 4 inches long (I backtracked on ebay) and one was marked with a 4 and the other an X

[Lustrousstone]

A 50p Chelford bargain, 5.5 cm tall and unmarked

[Tigerchips]

From what i can gather Moss ware and Elfinware were made between 1920 and 1940 and based on Dresden style porcelain of the 19th century. I think i have a Dresden piece actually, but i could be wrong, i often see people describing them as snowball...

It measures just over 2 inches high. It's impressed with 3 numbers but can't make them all out.

[Tigerchips]

Elfinware is often marked in orange/red 'Elfinware Germany' or just "Germany". According to Kovels "The mark was registered by Breslauer-Underberg, Inc., of New York City in 1947". An importer.

This might be a piece here but the mark is not very clear, it measures three & a half inches high...

[Tigerchips]

I posted each piece separately above so as not to confuse. I'm fascinated by this item below, it has an impressed mark of 55 on the base. I've seen similar decorated items (but not the same) described as Elfinware hat pin holders. I'm not 100% sure on this though. The flowers seem much better done than other Elfinware pieces, and the moss isn't green. It measures 6 inches high.