Featured Stein: October 2013

	~ An Old Majolica Stein ~ By Serguei Artiouchkov	Archives Home

Presented is a beautiful German beer stein created by Dorfner and Co. The company was established in 1829 in Hirschau, Bavaria and existed until 1890. For a complete history of the Dorfner Co. in Hirschau, see the three stages of the company in Chris Wheeler's Stein Marks. The company produced high quality beer steins that are actually quite rare. The stein is made in the majolica technique - of earthenware with heavy tin glaze. The glaze imitates multi-colored marble. It was manufactured around the 1860s - 1870s as indicated by the mark, the hinge type and the interesting Baroque-style, scroll-form thumblift. Some very similar steins were produced during  this same period by several factories - the Villeroy and Boch factory in Luxemburg and the Utzschneider factory in Sarreguemines. The Luxemburg steins were usually made of marble stoneware with two-tone pattern and the Sarreguemines steins were usually brown glazed. This multi-colored marble glaze is very unique and unusual.
This stein carries the "D&C" mark of Dorfner and Co. of Hirschau. It is approximately 0.5 L, but has no capacity mark adding to the probability of having been manufactured before 1875 when the "metric system" was adopted in Germany. The lid is pewter with a porcelain inlay showing the owner's name, "J. Hirn".