Stein Collectors Pictorial Index

Overview

This is an example of a Rochlitz "honey stein". This type of high fired earthenware stein was produced in the small Zwickau Mulde River valley towns of Rochlitz and Lunzenau, Germany, an area where suitable clay deposits were located. Production is believed to have begun in the first half of the 18th Century and continued until the first third of the 19th Century.

Construction and Design

The cylindrical, dual colored, ribbed steins were the only style known to have been produced there. These were produced as inexpensive, utilitarian objects, with the only decorative elements being the ribs; the honey color, attributed to the oxidizing firing; and the brown, resulting from the application of a clay slip, or engobe.

Lid and Markings

The lid on this stein has a five pin, closed hinge and is engraved with "A.M.R. 1764", presumably the owner's initials. The date aligns with the belief that this stein was produced in the second half of the 18th Century. Although difficult to make out, one of the three touchmarks inside the lid appears to be two towers with a lion in the center and is consistent with the Plauen city mark as reported by Edwin Hintze in his 1921 publication Sächsische Zinngiesesser, item 1105.

Historical Context

Origin: Rochlitz and Lunzenau, Zwickau Mulde River valley, Germany

Production Period: First half of 18th Century to first third of 19th Century

This Example: Circa 1764 (based on lid engraving)

Material: High fired earthenware

Style: Cylindrical, dual colored, ribbed

Purpose: Inexpensive, utilitarian drinking vessel