VAN BRIGGLE ART POTTERY - ASHTRAY, created by the Van Briggle Art Pottery and Tile Studios, Colorado Springs, from designs by founders Artus and Anne Van Briggle, who opened their art pottery story in Colorado Springs in 1899, 6.75 x 4 x 1.125-inch ceramic ashtray with groves for 4 cigarettes, with the two at the horizontal ends a bit narrower than those at the center, which look like they could handle cigars; color is deep burgundy (reddish brown) at the top surface with dusky/smoky sides; bottom is unfinished, off-white, with the etched maker's mark, the number 40, and a hand-etched "Van Briggle / Colo. Spgs."; the finished portioned which shows when it's placed ob a flat surface is truly excellent; the bottom shows a bit of wear including a half-inch blue line).
PLEASE NOTE. When I purchased this at an estate sale, I thought it was made of clay, but the unfinished bottom looks and feels like stone. My guess is that it's clay with a glazed finish over the colored portion supported by the unfinished base. FYI, all the Van Briggle pieces I found on their Google-linked web site are listed as ceramic works.
It's a striking piece of art pottery which is likely at least 40 years old, in the style created by the Founders in the early 1900s (their studio opened in 1899) and has been acclaimed a top-tier art pottery studio for decades It looks cool but is clearly not a modern ashtray. Google has a link to the studio's web site with photos and prices to many of their pieces, a mix of those designed by the founders and other potters whose work complements their style. Small ceramic vases with unique images cost in the hundreds of dollars. The site I examined didn't feature ashtrays.
There are 2 matching ashtrays on eBay, both also described as used. The one with 5 accompanying photos is $29.09 with $18.05 shipping. It has one bid at that price. The other one has 6 accompanying photos and is listed at $49.99 with free shipping. The less expensive one is in better shape because the other one is so heavily rubbed at the bottom that it's difficult to read the company's name and locale. Neither of them looks quite as richly colored as mine, but that may just be the nature of the photos.
My Buy-It-Now price of $50.00 includes shipping bubble-wrapped in a small cardboard priority mail box, which takes 2-3 days with tracking and insurance. I'll add extra cardboard after I bubble-wrap in for added protection.