Heavily Patinated (Much Used!) Walter Bosse for Herta Baller 1950s Brass "Hand" Ashtray theorem peach with a small ink smear

with a small ink smear below the pipe

Surface cracking and wear to the clay evident

Found plenty of time in advance of Mother's Day

and very tightly packed with what I'd guess is sawdust

Heavily Patinated (Much Used!) Walter Bosse for Herta Baller 1950s Brass "Hand" Ashtray theorem peach with a small ink smearI happened upon this one digging around in Maine this week an iconic brass 'hand' ashtray designed by Walter Bosse and produced by Herta Baller, Austria, c. 1950 Terrific form all the way around, with the pinched thumb and forefinger meant to evoke the holding of a cigarette and this particular ashtray was clearly very much used as such, with lots of blackening to the bowl. I have wiped it well with a damp cloth, but not attempted to clean or polish