Original Item. Only One Available. For centuries, pewter was the most popular material used for making eating and drinking utensils. Pewter does not tarnish, rust, or break, and of great importance in the stein business, it does not impart a taste to beer, as do copper, silver, and iron. It was not until the 1700s that stoneware replaced pewter as the material of choice for most steins. Shaping and decorating pewter is so easy that there have been many very different techniques used in making pewter steins. In the 1500s, pewter steins were either decorated in cast or hammered relief or by engraving or incising. The handles were relatively thin, S-shaped straps of pewter. Motifs commonly contained allegorical scenes within arcades or bands. At that time, the best relief pewter steins were produced in Saxony and Nuremberg. The quality of the engraved decorations on pewter steins made during the 1500s and 1600s usually depended on whether the pewterer did it himself or sent it to a specialist, such as a copperplate engraver.

Around 1800, and especially in the ensuing Biedermeier period, many pewter steins were produced in the Walzenkrug shape: cylindrical and about twice as high as wide. Tiny zigzag, or wrigglework, engraving was quite popular in Germany and Switzerland then, and the designs are in the typical folk art style that was the fashion in that period.

This is an outstanding example of a Pewter Stein dated to 1800, bearing the engraved coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony. The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: Kurfürstentum Sachsen or Kursachsen), was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Prince-Electors of Saxony from 1356 to 1806. It was a major state within the Holy Roman Empire, territorially centred on the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, as regulated by the Golden Bull of 1356. The Saxon Electorate was governed by rulers from the House of Ascania (until 1422), and the House of Wettin (1423–1806).

The stein is made in the correct style for steins of this period, with tiny zigzags are engraved along the edge of the lid and along the bottom of the body, with the top of the lid engraved:

F.R.Lo.
1800

This names the stein, but it is unlikely that it could ever be identified. The front of the stein has the engraved Coat of Arms of the Electorate of Saxony with laurels to the sides and a crown above.

The underside of the stein’s lid has the correct “3-Struck” hallmarks seen on Saxon steins during this period. Two depict an anchor with C G around it and 1708 at the bottom, another tell-tale sign of Saxon manufacture. The top of the lid has a great ball device often seen on Saxon steins.

The stein likely has a capacity of 1 Liter, the standard capacity during this era. It measures 8 ¾” tall with a 4 ½” base diameter.

An outstanding Saxon stein from 226 years ago! Ready for further research and display.