Kaiser wilhelm II Stein

[Overthetop]

i recently won this Kaiser wilhelm II stein in an auction in Victoria Australia,.i dont know exactly what i have here to be honest,.it shows expected age for a vintage piece,it stands about 14 inches,.alot of the words & phrases are very faded & hard to read,my german is ok but the gothic lettering gets me everytime.The craftsmanship is superb,i would'nt expext anything less from the germans.
I think it is a memorial stein to a specific "kavallerie",as it has some very faint names next to the handle.Some battle scenes & a profile of the kaiser on the front,.there is a scene inside the stein of a soldier in uniform & a woman,.(you can't see it very well in the photos).Though i did some research & i found that the scene at the bottom on the inside of these steins when held up to light the image glows & thats how you can tell they are origional.Some phrases on this piece say,.Sieg oder tod "victory or death" / "5 Esktr konigs Ulanen Regt 1 Kann No.13 Hannover 1909-1912,& is covered in oakleaves.If anyone spots anything i have missed,.which i know i have,.please dont hesitate to let me know,it will be much appretiated.I think it was produced around 1919-1920.It is such a beautiful piece,the art is amazing in such detail & the eagle & the kaiser as the lid well that just puts it straight in the awesome category.i am trying to translate all of the writing on it but it will take a while so any help would be great,.anyway here are some photos.

si

[Wagriff]

I've always been attracted to these Regimental Steins for retired soldiers from the regiment. Their artwork and designs are just amazing to examine. It's funny how the writing on this one has rubbed almost away in some place, but not in others! I wonder if this was from it being held in a certain manner when actually being Used? Have you held it up to a strong light to see the full detailing of the lithopane bottom? Some of these are just stunning! At any rate, a nice find and running into genuine ones is becoming harder and harder to do! Well done!

[SteveR]

Quite odd that the glaze would fade on the lettering. Probably not enough cobalt in the glaze mix. Other than that it is a nice stein of the period.
Cavalry steins usually fetch more money.
The steins were for reservist units.

[Overthetop]

yeah wagriff,.when i hold it to light it glows,.its very cool.i am still trying to translate alot of the fine print,.as it is in gothic script so it makes it hard.but very fun as you said.as to the paint rubbing off in some parts more than others,i think it may be just the paint used in parts was stronger or held its colour better.as i dont think a piece such as this would have been used much.also over time the light & handling come into effect.

si

[habicht]

It's a Reservist's Stein (Krug) for a trooper from the 13th Uhlan Regiment and it's a real one. It's normal to see the lists of fellow troopers badly faded as these details were applied by brush on top of the glaze.

[Nacogdochian]

Rare Imperial German Companion Reservist’s steins, inscribed to two different reservists in the same unit and in the same class. The steins are from the 4th Company of the 5th Wurttemberg, 123rd Grenadier Regiment, and class of 1905-1907, both garrisoned in Ulm. The transfer designs of the steins are identical, since they were ordered together from the same manufacturer. Knowledgeable collectors estimate that a reservist stein cost four to seven weeks pay at the time, depending on the type and amount of personalization specified. Such expense meant that probably no more that 15% of the soldiers could afford these mementos of their service time. The fact that these two are from the same unit, (both on each other’s stein roster which includes only two Hornist & ten Gefreiter) one named to Hornist (bugler) Sehlund, the other to Gefreiter (private first class) Ruff, both mugs surviving two world wars, finding their way separately across the ocean, and offered for sale two years apart by different vendors on two different coasts of the U. S., now together again on my stein shelf defies all odds. A respected expert and noted author has told me that in his extensive collection he has one such companion pair, and knows of one other within the United States, and three in Europe. He also stated that odds of assembling such a pair are less than one-tenth of one percent. Sehlund's stein is without flaws, Ruff's pewter lid has slight damage and is a bit off-kilter. Both lithophanes are undamaged. These were in the bottom of the stein, so while taking your last drink you would see the design if enough light was present.
I acquired Hornist Sehlund's stein several years ago, Gefreiter Ruff's showed up on eBay to my delight last year. When paying close attention to the detail on each stein it may be determined that each was hand-finished by a different artist. The shoulder boards and "swallows nest" (worn on the shoulder by regimental musicians) came with Sehlund's stein, but there is no way to prove that they were originally his.

[aicusv]

Great steins, never managed to pick up an original, but wish I had.

[Anderson]

That is one impressive stein. With regards the "fading" of lettering, I would think the lettering personalizing the stein to a particular regiment would be hand painted on after production. Hand detailing was common in the ceramics industry and yes the paint had probably worn off in the using. Full to the brim it would be a two hand job I would think.

[stuka f]

"Alte Germanen Info" is a association of stein collectors, in Germany.
They are very willing to help for any information, is you ask them.
Here are mine. Got to know by them that the hole in the bottom was done on purpose, so the stein of a fallen comrade, would not be used by somebody else.

cheers
Kris