The early 19th century saw much destruction in Europe caused by the Napoleonic Wars
and then the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This was also a low ebb in the
design and production of beer steins. By the 1870's Germany had become an independent
nation and new efforts were being made to improve all things German including the
design and manufacture of German beer steins. One of the first movements was called
“Historismus”, an attempt at the revival of the best of earlier periods like Baroque
and Renaissance using new techniques. Notable among the first manufacturers to
introduce new designs and techniques were Villeroy & Boch at Mettlach and Rheinhold
Hanke in Höhr(grenzhausen) and many others followed.
The magnificent stein featured this month was produced in the style of a late 16th century Raeren stoneware jug and should not be considered a fake, but rather a Historismus piece. Little has been reported about this manufacturer, Hubert Schiffer of Raeren, Belgium near Aachen, Germany and operating after 1885. (See: German Stoneware 1200-1900 by David Gaimster; Steinzeug by Konrad Strauss u. Frieder Aichele in the Battenberg series.) His mark is on the base as “S” over “H” (fig. 1).
The lid is
original to the jug and marked “W. Schloemer Aachen”, but is not in the
style of an original 17th century lid and does not have any significant relationship
to the jug itself.
The inscription on the lid (fig. 2) translates to: For the 200
year Jubilee of the Marksman Society of Gräfenthal from the Military & Land Protection
Club 15-16 August 1886.
This is probably a very true copy of an early
Raeren Krug made
by Wilhelm Menniken as noted by the cartouche under the handle of a grotesque (shown at the right
) with the
initials “W. M.” from the famous Menniken family of master potters working in
Raeren until about the 1580's when they moved to Grenzau and then to Grenzhausen.
