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.
Josef Strnact. majolica hippo humidor.
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.
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
Caldas majolica turkey humidor
Austrian humidor and smoke stand
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.
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