Antique German Mold Blown/Enam Glass Beer Stein Satyrical Theme Bavaria c. 1870s

  
Antique German Mold Blown/Enameled Glass Beer Stein Satyrical Theme Bavaria c. Description: This very interesting and unusual German beer stein was made around late 1870s - The body of the stein is made of mold-blown glass with molded ribs for the perfect optical effect and a thick and heavy hand-formed applied handle.

The stein has a molded front decoration which is also enameled with different colors. The frontal decoration shows a strange motif that resembles a coat of arms with an eagle sitting on the globe, with two flags, crossed cannons, and two hands in a handshake. But if you look closely you can see that the "eagle" is actually a rooster and the whole picture is mocking the "unification" symbols so popular in teh united Germany of the last half of 1800s.

The flag on the right is the German Confederation flag that was in use in from 1848 and is still in use as the official German state flag. The flag on the left looks like the Bavarian flag with light blue and white. The picture is mocking the union between Bavaria and German Confederation - many Bavarian nationalists were against the union and the stein reflects this attitude.

This is my own take on the meaning of the decor, if someone has a better explanation I would be very interested to know. The fact that the eagle is actually a rooster is an absolutely solid fact - you can clearly see the comb and the wattle that were actually molded, - everything else is my speculation. There some inscriptions on the ribbon around the shaking hands. They are hard to read but they could be easily interpreted as "Germania" and "Bavaria".

The lid is inlaid with porcelain insert. The insert is nicely and skillfully painted porcelain miniature showing the word "Andenken" - "Remembrance".

The stein has a three-ring open type hinge and a thumblift sitting on the lid - typical for the late 1870s. The stein is in excellent condition with no damage whatsoever, no chips, cracks or repairs. There is some roughness on the bottom - the pontil ring is not polished off as they did later and at the bottom of the handle.

All this is because of the technology used at the time, it is not damage or even a manufacturing issue. Please note - the glass steins are probably the only antique steins that could be used for their original purpose - they could be washed perfectly clean. It's so nice to have a good brew from about 140 years old drinking vessel! It is large and impressive, standing 9 tall to the top of the thumblift, 1L capacity.

Auctiva offers Free Image Hosting and Editing. The item "Antique German Mold Blown/Enam Glass Beer Stein Satyrical Theme Bavaria c. 1870s" is in sale since Monday, May 17, 2021. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Breweriana, Beer\Drinkware, Steins\Lidded Steins\Germany". The seller is "beer-stein" and is located in New York, New York. This item can be shipped worldwide.