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Posted 8 months, 16 days ago
cogito
(63 items)
Every once in a while you buy something on "gut instinct." This is one of those purchases. Knowing nothing about beer steins, I knew I was taking a risk but the material, manufacture and craftsmanship of this piece screamed quality to me. The matte green glaze on this piece and material suggests the Arts & Crafts era, while the design content is decidedly Art Nouveau/Jugendstil. As such, I would surmise that this piece dates from that transition period 1905-1912. As to whether it is American or European, the design content is French Art Nouveau, but the glaze and material is more akin to American Art & Crafts potters. There is an indistinct signature carved into the piece on the rocks near the right leg of the male figure on the stein lid. The thick glaze, however, obscures and defies translation. The stein is approximately 11" high and 5.5" in diameter, which suggests that this piece was more decorative than utilitarian. The bottom is unglazed with no markings.
Any attribution thoughts, guesses, comments, etc. are most welcome. I'd love to solve this mystery...hopefully to reinforce that my "gut instincts" were correct.
Update 9/14/2011: I received the following information about the mermaid stein (which as impractical as it may be...it really is a stein, not a humidor):
"...so this morning I scanned old issues of Prosit (the publication of Stein Collectors International). A stein of this design was written about and pictured in the December 1974 issue. In a short article, Jim Gruber wrote about a collection at Rosary Hill College in Amherst, NY. Of this stein he wrote - 'The Kissing Stein. The material appears to be of cast bronze of a very dark, almost black color. A sort of "light black" describes the unusual patina. The piece is approx. 12" in height with a base diameter of approx. 8 1/2". It appears to be about 1 1/2 to 2 liters in volume. It is signed by the artist whose name is impossible to read. To the best of my ability, I decipher the name as being "Endyangell". The signature is on the base of the lid beneath the nude male. It is a heavy piece, over five pounds. This is a beautiful masterpiece and has to be examined to be truly appreciated.' "
Ref: Gruber, J. (1974, Dec.). The Rosary Hill College stein collection. Prosit, Vol. 1, #38, pg. 247.
So, we now have an example of another exemplar in a dark bronze glaze, but the maker/manufacturer/artist is still a mystery.
I received some input today that the scene on the stein may depict the German folklore of the Lorelei. Still no attribution, though.
Hi cogito.
I have a question or two...
The lid is very unusual.
Does he actually kiss her when you lift the lid?
It seems really clever.
If she is the Lorelei, who kissed the Lorelei?
How is it hinged?
The green is interesting. Bronze look?
Have you looked at steins in other media?
Italian ivory pieces have well worked sculptural lids and bodies.
Capodimonte also did highly decorated steins.
An informative site is "www.steveonsteins.com/".
He could be conatacted.
Thanks for the tips!
The nude male figure does kiss the mermaid, though the two do not touch...but just about touch in a kiss. It's good they don't because I suspect this would cause damage to the glaze/pottery over time. The hinge is pottery, but held together with a bronze or brass pin. The ivory thought is a great one, as it's the first thing I thought when I saw the piece. It occurred to me that this stein may be a pottery version of an ivory original. I'll follow-up with the suggested tips. Thanks again. I love this site! Cheers, Jeff
Just my gut instinct, it is not a drinking Stien (look at the lip, not suitable for drinking beer) ...it is a Humidor for holding pipe tobacco.
I know this doesn't answer the big questions of who and why...but there you go.
I never considered this to be a practical drinking stein, so the hypothesis that it is a humidor is a good one. Keep 'em coming!
Update: I received the following information about the mermaid stein (which as impractical as it may be...it really is a stein, not a humidor):
"...so this morning I scanned old issues of Prosit (the publication of Stein Collectors International). A stein of this design was written about and pictured in the December 1974 issue. In a short article, Jim Gruber wrote about a collection at Rosary Hill College in Amherst, NY. Of this stein he wrote -
'The Kissing Stein. The material appears to be of cast bronze of a very dark, almost black color. A sort of "light black" describes the unusual patina. The piece is approx. 12" in height with a base diameter of approx. 8 1/2". It appears to be about 1 1/2 to 2 liters in volume. It is signed by the artist whose name is impossible to read. To the best of my ability, I decipher the name as being "Endyangell". The signature is on the base of the lid beneath the nude male. It is a heavy piece, over five pounds. This is a beautiful masterpiece and has to be examined to be truly appreciated.' "
So, we now have an example of another exemplar in a dark bronze glaze, but the maker/manufacturer/artist is still a mystery.
Endyangell?
The Italian teacher suggests: E. N. d'Angeli.
the second L may well have been an I.
The E and N could well be mixed up with other letters.
Some combinations with Angel within are:
CERAMICHE DI ANGELI MASSIMO
Sergio DANGELO
Giovanni D'ARCANGELO
Luigi DE ANGELIS
Filiberto DE ANGELIS
Sabatino de Angelis was a Neapolitan sculptor late in the nineteenth century.
Sabatino de Angelis & Fils, Napoli is the usual signature but he worked in bronze.
The kiss of a mermaid will physically heal a human?
In Ireland mermaids are called Merrows or Murirruhgachs, in Cornwall, Merrymaids, in the Shetland islands, Sea-trows, while the Germans on the Rhine called them Meerfraus. The Scandanavians called them Navmands and the Russians, Rusalkas.
In some languages (such as Spanish, French, Italian, Polish or Portuguese) the word for mermaid is Siren, Sirène, Sirena, Syrena or Sereia adds to this confusion.
I've met some dead ends with Nereides.
Peleus and Thetis is a different tale.
I think you are on to something, but I doubt the piece is by Sabatino. D'Angeli is the most plausible hypothesis so far, but my searches are coming up nil. I also like the prospect of the piece/artist being Italian, as the Liberty Stile carried out there borrowed quite heavily from the French and was known for being the most risqué of all the Art Nouveau movement expressions. Great detective work!
It occurred to me that maybe the signature isn't a signature at all. Maybe it's a phrase. "En My Angel(la)" loosely translates from Latin to "Behold, my angel."
I do know that the "ENDY..." ascribed to the stein in the 1974 article is incorrect. My version certainly starts with "ENMY..."
Hi cogito. I'm no real expert on Latin, but "ecce" is behold in Latin; in Italian it's "ecco".
"Enmyangell"?
Maybe "Lo" ? I'm no languages expert, as well and just desperately grasping at straws to solve this mystery.
cogito...I just spoke with a wonderful person, Karen Cash, at Daemen College, (formally Rosary Hill College). I alerted her to this entry and she is looking for the best person to provide information.
Thank you! I really appreciate it.
Regards,
Jeff