Mug

The stein is incomplete; its original handle, broken and missing, has been replaced by an iron band, and breaks have been repaired with metal spikes. It is cylindrical in shape, with a straight wall topped by a straight rim with a tapering top. The base of the wall is slightly curved towards the bottom, which is flat and free of glaze. It is fitted with a vertical handle made from a curved iron band; it is held to the wall by two iron rods that pass through the band and the wall, and are riveted at their ends. The outer wall and bottom of the stein feature six large copper metal studs, the ends of which are inserted in as many pairs of drilled holes; the decoration covers the outer face of the stein, i.e. the rim and wall. The decoration is of the Chinese or Oriental garden type and is processed in Imari. It is hand-painted in two-tone blue underglaze, then traced and painted in iron red, with gold highlights, over glaze. The braid under the inner edge is traced in blue and outlined with a fillet. It is composed of two alternately repeated elements. One element is a plant motif traced and painted in red, bordered by two leaves traced and painted in blue with gold, and set between arched lines traced in blue. The second element is a double latticework with blue spikes. The decoration on the wall rests on a double fillet traced in blue at the base of the wall. The central element, on the opposite side of the cove, consists of a large rock with holes, symbolizing the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, traced and painted in blue with gilding, which rests on a terrace traced in blue and painted in faded red, with grasslands traced in red. To the right is a fence with two vertical posts, traced and painted blue with gilding; the panels are adorned with sloping bars traced in red. Behind the rock emerges the trunk of a willow tree, traced and painted in blue, and whose drooping branches and leaflets are traced in blue and red with gilding. Also emerging on either side of the willow are long branches with leaves traced and painted in blue, supporting large flowers traced and painted in red with gilding; some leaves are traced and painted in blue with gilding, while the others are traced in red with veins. The terrace also supports slender stems traced in blue, trimmed with leaves traced in red, sometimes with veins, and flowers traced and painted in red with gilding. The wall on either side of the handle is decorated with blue-ribbed leaves. The top of the stein is covered with a brown-painted ferruginous plaster.