Stumped by German China – Help Us?

All older German women seem to love two things: lace window treatments and white china with blue onions, flowers, and birds on them.  These things are sold everywhere in Berlin from the one euro store and thrift shops to KaDeWe, Europe’s second largest department store.

I know nothing about the lace.

My knowledge of the dishes is about as strong as my German.  I do know that the onions vary in size and color depending on where your dishes come from.  Some are from countries that don’t even exist (like East Germany and Czechoslovakia); others are hot off the press.  None of the manufacturers seem to make their dishes in the same size.

We don’t have curtains yet, and we certainly don’t plan on the lace.  Yet somehow, we have several of the blue onion-flower-bird dishes in our kitchen.  The egg cups are useful, so is the little candy dish.  The thing is, I have no idea what this onion fella is:

china-set-piece

The other question, of course, is why we have it.  I don’t know.

Can you help us identify it?  Or better yet, have any creative ideas on how it could be used?  Martin says it’s a napkin holder, so the thingamagigger is posing with a fork.  I say it’s too small for napkins.

Please, oh please.  What do you say?