Love these and the way they glow!
 
This one carved as a Poodle or Water Spaniel with gold collar and bail.
 
Poodles were typified by their clip which dates back centuries to when they were used as Water Spaniels. 
 
Gervase Markham from his book 'The Art of Fowling' (1655 AD), where he describes the trimming of these Water Dogs as follows:
 
"... for the cutting and shaving him from the navel downward or backward is.. because these water dogs naturally are ever most laden with hair on the hinder parts.. which are even deeper in the water than the fore parts, therefore Nature hath given them the greatest armour of hair to defend the wet and coldness; yet this defence in the summer time by violence of the heat of the sun.. is very troublesome.
.. so likewise, in the matter of water, it is a very heavy burden to the dog and makes him to swim less nimbly and slower.... But for the cutting or shaving of a dog all over, even from foot to nostril, that I utterly dislike, for it not only takes from the general benefits which nature hath lent him, but also brings such a tenderness and chillness over all his body, that the water in the end will grow irksome unto him."
 
weighs - 1.68g
measures - 19.7mm x 22.3mm (not including bail)
English circa 1870
Excellent condition