A pair of important jugs made for the council of Neuss
Engraved pewter pots of solid baluster-form design on shallow domed bases. Hinged lids with baluster finials and curved handles. Each applied with the crowned coat of arms of the city of Neuss dated 1674 to the display sides above a hoop and ring. The neck and shoulder with moulded and ridged décor. The top of the handles engraved "8 NO" and "9NO". Maker's mark PG to the inside of the lid. H 35 cm.
Cologne, Peter Gümmersbach, 1674.
Until 1937, seven further examples of these pitchers were found in the city of Neuss on display in the municipal museum. One of them was given as a gift to Hermann Göring in that year.
It is no longer known exactly when or why Peter Gümmersbach was commissioned to produce this impressive set of nine pitchers for the city council. There may even have been more such vessels, since the city council of Neuss has existed since its approval by Archbishop of Cologne Konrad von Hochstaden (1205 - 1261) and comprised of twelve to fourteen members. It is conceivable that a jug was made for every member to be used at the council's banquets.
One possible occasion for the order could have been the retreat of the French forces in 1674. On May 11th, 1674, the Prince Elector of Cologne Maximilian Heinrich von Bayern (1621 - 1688) arranged a separate peace treaty with the States General through the Emperor's mediation, as a result of which the occupying French troops moved out of the cities of the archbishopric. This peace was unfortunately only of short duration. A few years later, in 1679, the city of Neuss was again captured by a force of 10,000 French troops.
Literature
An identical pitcher in the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum (in: Haedeke, Zinn, Braunschweig 2/1973, illus. 291).
An identical pitcher made for the city council of Cologne is housed in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (Haedeke, illus. 292). Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke notes the similarities of this type to Dutch designs. It developed throughout the 17th century from the form of pitchers with tall bases used in the late Gothic period, although the two types were produced simultaneously.
For more on the history of Neuss, cf.: Löhrer, Geschichte der Stadt Neuß von ihrer Gründung an bis jetzt, Neuss 1840, § 189 f.