Sometimes one wants something that feels like a bit of Rococo fun, plus I love a snake, this one about to steal an egg from the nest of this pair of doves in what one could read as a clash between good and evil. 19th c. Staffordshire, with hand-painted details in gold and black and green. The form is that of a spill vase, typically kept on the mantle and used for containing splints, spills, and tapers for transferring fire, for example to light a candle or pipe from a lit fire--though it could certainly be used as a vase now. 

8 1/2" t x 6 3/8" w x 2 7/8" d. Overall good condition, with a small chip to the beak of the bird at left and general crazing.