Grape Leaf Design Nutcracker

This is the one of those rare items made by Meissen in the late 19th or early 20th century - a nutcracker. Nutcrackers are rather rare to begin with in this style but the Meissen ones are almost impossible to find and I have never owned one with this green grape leaf / grape vine ( Weinlaub ) pattern. The piece is hand painted with the green vines along the edge of the platform as well as the shoulders of the piece with a green line trim along the side of the base as well as each round handle to either end of the metal top piece. The nutcracker is in superb condition with some oxidation to the metal parts. The mechanics are very smooth which is typical of their nutcrackers - much nicer than the cheaper versions! The piece is about 4.375 inches tall (when screwed down all the way), 6.25 inches wide including the handles and just over 3.25 inches deep. It is marked underneath with the under glaze blue crossed swords mark (first choice!), a painter's mark in black and the usual incised marks as shown. A really nice and rare piece! Please email me for more information or other pictures.