Referred to as “figure marbles” these marbles have a small white figure inside a clear glass marble (can be translucent greens, blues, ambers, etc. but in these colors they are very rare.) The figure is usually an animal, like a rabbit, dog, cat, cow, etc. but can also be human, or a religious icon. This charming class of marbles are normally large, and are very collectable. In the early days of the hobby some mistakenly believed the figure inside was made of sulfur, thus the name now in use. The material is actually porcelain, capable of being heated to the same temperature as the molten glass, which surrounded the figure during manufacturing. Figure marbles were manufactured in Germany from the mid 19th century into the early years of the 20th century.