Figural Spill Vases, Memento Mori, Man & Woman with Dog & Cat

A pair of porcelain figural spill vases in the memento mori tradition, a man and a woman each paired with an animal companion, dog and cat, white porcelain. Spill vases had a real household job before matches were common: they held spills, thin twists of paper or wood used to carry a flame from the hearth to a candle or pipe, so a pair like this lived on the mantel doing daily work, not just standing for show. Good condition with a hairline crack, sold as such. One pair, one new owner, then closed.