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.