Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very attractive Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian WWI-era porcelain flower vase depicting Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Wilhelm II reigned from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, and his image appeared widely on patriotic and commemorative ceramics produced throughout the German and Austro-Hungarian spheres during the late Imperial period.

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until abdicating in 1918. His fall from power marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's 300-year rule of Prussia. Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal. Through his mother, he was the eldest of the 42 grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. In March 1888, Wilhelm's father, Frederick William, ascended the German and Prussian thrones as Frederick III. Frederick died just 99 days later, and his son succeeded him as Wilhelm II.

This is a gorgeous porcelain vase depicting the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm II, with black, white, and red band around the bottom and a black and yellow band around the top, meaning to signify the alliance between the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The bottom of the stein is marked with a maker mark of an Eagle under M Z, denoting manufacture by Moritz Zdekauer, a porcelain factory originally established in Stara Role (Altrohlau), near Carlsbad, which was part of Austria-Hungary.

The vase measures 9 ½” tall with a 2 ⅝” base diameter. The bottom is also marked 01599, likely the model number.

The combination of the Kaiser Wilhelm II portrait, German Imperial and Austro-Hungarian color bands, Moritz Zdekauer factory mark, and surviving 01599 model number makes this an especially interesting example of patriotic porcelain from the Central Powers era. It provides a strong decorative and historical representation of the close political and military relationship between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the years surrounding WWI.