What were spill vases used for?

They held spills, the paper twists and wood slivers used to take a flame from the fire to a candle or a pipe. They stood on the mantelpiece where the fire was. They were made in quantity through the nineteenth century. Matches and then electricity turned them into ornaments rather than tools.

How often do they come up for sale?

Around eleven come to market on Sellingantiques in a year, spread across 38 dealers. No single dealer holds anything like the category. The archive runs to 101 listings, so the pattern below is drawn from a fair spread rather than one shop's stock.

Yes. Twenty-five of 101 listings are pairs, and pairs turn up in every branch, Staffordshire and porcelain alike. The archive also holds one set of three and one lot described simply as two. The same subject appears both singly and paired, and the paired listings sit higher in the range.

Which Staffordshire subjects turn up?

Sheep, spaniels, cow-and-calf, deer, swans and cygnets, horses and foals, greyhounds and foxes all recur in the titles. Beyond those, the archive has thrown up a zebra, a mastiff, a poodle, lions, and figure groups including William Tell, Scots Harvesters and Babes in the Wood. A group inscribed MILK SOLD HERE and one piece titled a Tulip Holder also appear.

Were spill vases only made in pottery?

Mostly ceramic, either earthenware or porcelain. Pearlware and ironstone are both named in titles, and one blue jasper piece appears. One piece in the whole archive is not ceramic at all: a turned pearwood treen spill vase, dated c.1780 to c.1800, the earliest bracket recorded on Sellingantiques.

How old are the ones for sale?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1960, though only 41 of the 101 listings carry a clean year. Georgian and 18th Century are the earliest labels used, on a handful of listings. The latest are a block dated to the 1930s and a single 1960 entry, a signed Royal Worcester piece.

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Antique Spill Vases

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A spill vase is a small upright holder that stood on the mantelpiece with paper twists or wood slivers in it, ready to carry a flame from the fire to a candle or a pipe.