Featured Stein: November 2015

~ Young Werner with the Baron ~ By Bill Gee

The epic narrative poem Der Trumpeter von Säkkingen was written by Joseph Victor von Scheffel around 1854, and was an instant success. During the “Golden Age” of German stein-making all of the major factories produced steins depicting the Trumpeter of Säkkingen, and many stein collectors are familiar with the tale of the love between a commoner and a baron’s daughter.

This Hanke 3-liter relief stein, mold number 1199, shows the first meeting of the Trumpeter, Werner Kirchhof with three other major characters in the book—Margaretha (his love-to-be), the Baron (her father) and Hidigeigei (the Baron’s philosophizing cat.) Jung Werner beim Grafen C. Schweninger, Jr.

Although the 1884 opera based on von Scheffel’s book was also popular, it may have renewed the love for the poem itself. Many steins are based on scenes painted by the Austrian painter, Carl Schweninger, Jr. soon after von Scheffel’s death in 1886. These scenes definitely relate to the poem and NOT the opera.