A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-1
A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-2
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A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-1A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-2A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-3A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-4A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition - image-5

Lot 173 Dα

A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition

Auction 1105 - overview Berlin
21.04.2018, 14:00 - Prussia II
Estimate: 6.000 € - 8.000 €
Result: 8.060 € (incl. premium)

A Berlin KPM porcelain cup as a prize for a poetry competition

Unidentified model. Decorated with a banderole arranged to form a Gothic arch design, inscribed with the words: "Schlagschatten Liebreize Rosenknospe Unschuld Wiedersehen Strohsack Carreau vier Nachtmütze nichtig Schmerz Thräne Freunde Gedankenspähne Turnier". A gilt laurel wreath to the rim. Interior gilt. Enamel sceptre mark, inscribed in black to the underside: "Januar 1815". H 9.1 cm. In the original fabric-lined leather case.
1814/15.

This unusual cup and saucer was designed as the prize for a poetry competition based on an idea developed by a group of ladies from Berlin high society. The aim was to write a poem based on the group of random words inscribed upon the cup. The prize was son by Wilhelm Ferdinand Elsner von Gronow from Upper Silesia (1786 - 1848). The young von Gronow was a prominent figure in his era, becoming Bergrichter in Upper Silesia in 1808 and secretary of the Prussian National Representation from 1811 - 1815. In the same year he was wounded in the battle of Belle Alliance, a tavern near Waterloo, and was awarded the Iron Cross. This lot includes the original case for the cup, a two-part autograph including the original poem, and an explanatory essay by von Gronow's son Martin Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Elsner von Gronow.

Provenance

Private collection, Westphalia.

Literature

Published in: Dieter Bernd Schulte, Ein frühbiedermeierliches Bechergefäß der Königlichen Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin, in: Keramos 164/1999, p. 5 ff.