SteinCollectors International
| ~Mettlach BeerSteins: An Introduction~ |  |
| This article provides anintroduction to beer steinswhich were produced by Mettlach in their "golden age" of steinproduction between 1885 and 1910. Mettlach is easily the best knownname amongmanufacturers of old beer steins, and to collectors the name issynonymous withquality and value. To be accurate, Mettlach is but one of the multiplefactoriesof the company of Villeroy & Boch (V&B), its name being takenfrom thevillage where it is located. But the name is a very useful one, sincethe greatmajority of steins produced by Villeroy & Boch and sought bytoday’scollectors were produced in this factory. Moreover, the trademarksemployed onthe base of their wares prominently feature the name Mettlach. Located on the Saar River in western Germany, close to borders withLuxembourg and France, the Mettlach factory is housed on the grounds ofa formerBenedictine Abbey dating to the 10th century. The factory was foundedon thissite in 1809 by Johann Franz Boch-Buschmann, and the company ofVilleroy &Boch resulted from a merger with Nicolas Villeroy in 1836. Each of several V&B factories designed (and trademarked) their ownwares, and while other factories admittedly produced some high qualityand appealing steins, this article will deal exclusively with thosemanufactured atMettlach. Further, while Mettlach produced plaques, pokals, beakers,punchbowls, pitchers, tobacco jars, vases, dinnerware, ash trays, beer taps,candlesticks, bottles — the variety seems endless — this article willstickwith beer steins.
Mettlach steins have a number of characteristicswhich make them an enduring collectible:
While we might be tempted to speculate that the majority of thisproductionremains in Germany, this is a very shaky conclusion. In addition tonormalbreakage over time, huge quantities of these examples of German culturewereintentionally destroyed by conquering forces after each of the twoWorld Wars.Mettlach wares became well known in the US following exhibitions inPhiladelphia(1876) and Chicago (1893), and US collections provided a safe havenduring thewar years. As a result, a significant portion of the existing Mettlachpiecesare in the US. More important to today’s collector than the original productionquantities is the quantity which remains intact. Although in a fewcases onlyone or two examples are known, the majority of items are more common,withsomewhere between 100 and 500 examples being seen on the Americanmarket. Types of Steins The primary "lines" of steinsproducedby Mettlach are briefly described in the following sections. Whilereference ismade to production techniques, it must be pointed out that Mettlachused manydifferent techniques which were refined over time, and likely alteredthesetechniques in producing specific items. Much research has been done totry tounderstand how Mettlach produced these items, and each of the theoriesis ableto produce evidence to support it. While the various categories of Mettlach steins and their markings arediscussed below, it should be noted that the stein type is theprimarycharacteristic by which all steins are known. Thus collectors refer toearly wares, tree-trunk, relief, etched, cameo, mosaic, PUG, etched andPUG, etched and relief,character, faience, Rookwood, Delft, etc. Note that these terms referto the primary area of decoration on the stein, including thesidedecorations,but ignoring any framework surrounding the decoration as well as therim andbase ornamentation. While most of these terms retain their normalmeaning, it must be understood that "cameo," "mosaic," "faience,""Rookwood," "Delft" and similar terms refer to visual style, and not tomanufacturing process or material. | ||
 "Tree-Trunk"Relief The early (pre-1880) steinproduction by Mettlachwas generally limited to a relief "tree trunk" style, where the bodywas molded with the appearance of a tree trunk, and leaves and vineswere addedin relief. These steins, also called "early wares", were frequentlyhighlighted with shiny platinum. Comprising a very small fraction ofthe totalstein production of Mettlach, these early pieces are largely ignored bytoday'scollectors. The construction of a railroad along the Saar River,together withnew production techniques and an emphasis on the best artisticstandards of thepast, allowed Mettlach to introduce several new lines in the yearsfollowing1880. These wares, featuring extensive use of color, were termed"franklyunrivaled" at the 1885 World’s Fair in Antwerp, bringing Mettlachworldwide renown and stimulating vigorous production. Roy D Selms provided a Featured Stein article for March 2013 whichfeatured the stein shown at right, and discussed this stein and theearly Mettlach marks. | ||
| "Etched"or Chromolith (colored stone) Each of these terms refers to a specific manufacturing process. Becausethe items produced by each process are largely similar, the terms aresometimes used interchangeably—and incorrectly. Both involve creating amolded design which establishes areas of different color. Areas withinthe design are separatedby outlines in a contrasting color. Additional definition isadded the same way. See the gnome's cap in the adjacent photo for aclear example. Although there are nosurviving records of howeither of these processes was performed, forensic analysis of brokenpieces has provided some insights. In thechromolith process, which was used prior to 1880, the color of theselines is created by filling them with colored clay slip, resulting in acompletely smooth surface. The chromolith process was no longer usedpost 1880, as it required special equipment and proved too labor intensive and costly for mass production.Chromolith form numbers are restricted to the 800s, and there are no chromolith steins. Thesuccesssor to the chromolith wares is the "etched" line.  The "etched" wares are verysimilar in appearance to chromolith items, but employ asignificantly different technique, principally with regard to theoutlines—on theetched ware these lines were made byrubbing a black glaze into the "incised" lines. As a result, the linesare easily felt with a finger nail.The large background areas of many "etched" pieces show shading whichcould not be achieved with a uniform area of clay slip. This wascreated by using some form of atomizer to add color shading within themold before adding adding the clay slip. This artistic embellishmentmakes the backgrounds more natural. At the same time, it alsointroduced some level of variation from piece to piece which should beaccepted as intentional. GaryKirsner discusses these topics in greater detail in The Mettlach Book. This is a good place to point out that while the terms "incised" and"etched" reflect the appearanceof these wares, they are incorrect as regards their manufacture. The stein shown to the right (form 2134) is a favorite among fans ofartist/ designer Heinrich Schlitt. It is commonly referred to as the"gnomein a nest". The inlaid lid shows a rooster at sunrise. The most common and most popular themes for etched steins includescenicillustration -- tavern scenes, castles, the Munich Child, medievalscenes, etc.However, a number of steins were made with abstract designs, and thesearegenerally known by another name. "Art Nouveau" steins feature theflowing lines and geometric patterns of that style, although they arestillexecuted with in the etched technique. "Mosaic" steins involve arepeating pattern comprised of many small sections of colored clay.Whilebearing many similarities to etched steins, they evidence some ofthecharacteristics of relief, and are generally more complex in theirstyle. | ||
 Relief At about this same time Mettlachbegan tointroduce relief steins using either applied or molded reliefdecoration. Thedecoration was typically light in color against a darker color on thebody,frequently blue or terra cotta (shown to the right with a greenish-graybackground). The relief coloration was set by the color of the clay.Appliedrelief designs were formed using a flat mold, then applied on top oftheundecorated body before firing. Molded relief pieces were formed bypressing thewhite clay into recesses in the form before the colored clay was addedfor thebody. These steins are similar in appearance to Wedgwood Jasperware,although ofhigher quality and finer detail. A later innovation involved the use offullcolor relief decoration, but the production of relief steins neverapproachedthe volume of etched steins. | ||
| Cameoand Phanolith Cameoand phanolith items have a similar initial appearance to relief items,but use higher quality materials for the relief design to create atranslucent effect similar to shell cameos,and to provide a finer degree of detail. Whereas relief steins arecommonly glazed, the cameo and phanolith decorations are unglazed, orbisque. Cameo items most often used a sea-green background, and lesscommonly a dark blue color. The backgrounds were unglazed as well.Cameo steins were given form numbers in the 2000’s and 3000’s. Thecameo stein at left is form 2949.It'simportant to realize that cameo and phanolith processes were distinctlydifferent. The term "phanolith" denotes plaques, vases and jardiniereswhich were made from soft-paste porcelain and exhibited translucency inboth the bodies and decorations. There were no phanolith steins madeand all phanolith items were numbered in the 7,000's. The figure shownhere is a very finely done phanolith plaque of modern manufacture.Because the detail of these items is essential to understanding howthey differ from standard relief pieces, you may click anywhere on theimage to see a larger version. | ||
 Print Under Glaze(PUG) Steins In 1886 Mettlach initiated use of a transfer technique for decorating aless-costly line of products based upon a process employed by theEnglish. Thisinvolved the use of lithographed designs on metal plates, which thentransferredthe full-color design to a paper "transfer". The stein body was glazedand fired, then the transfer applied, followed by another clear glazeand finalfiring. There are also a number of Mettlach PUG steins on which thetransferconsisted of only an outline of the design, and the colors werehandpainted.Unlike other Mettlach lines, PUG decorations are flat on the body andsmooth tothe touch, and the steins have a glossy glaze finish. Because theyrequiredsignificantly less handwork, the simple half-liter PUG bodiesoriginally costabout one third as much as the half-liter etched bodies, although withtheaddition of a pewter lid they were about half as costly. Interestingly,thepewter lid for a simple half-liter PUG cost more than the body alone! The use of transfer decoration meant that a unique mold was no longerrequired. A large variety of decorations were applied to the same bodyformnumber. Forms 1526 and 1909, in both ½-liter and one liter sizes, werethe mostcommonly used, although there were many others. In some cases the samedesignwas used on more than one body. Whereas etched and other types ofsteins aregenerally known by the form number, PUG steins are known by thecombination ofdecoration number followed by form. As an example, the ½-liter PUGsteinillustrated here, decoration number 591 on body form 1526, is commonlyreferredto as "591(1526)". | ||
| Specialty types At various times Mettlach produced steins which had the same decorativestyle as other manufacturers or periods, including Delftdesigns, faience and Rookwood.The Mettlach "Rookwood" steins were similar in general appearance tostandard-glaze portrait items produced at the Rookwood factory inCincinnati,OH. The outline of the decoration for these items was put on the bodyusing aprinted transfer, and the decoration was finished by hand. The MettlachRookwoodsteins, all of which are portraits, were made with a fancy "carved"pewter lid, many with a large ball thumblift, reminiscent of lids fromanearlier period. Many of the faience and Delft steins also came withthese lids,and some of the faience steins included a pewter footring. | ||
| The BAVARIA Line This line of transfer-decorated steins, bearing the incised wordBAVARIA aspart of the trademark, appeared in the catalogue of 1906. These steinsweresimpler in their body shapes and overall decorative techniques, makingthemcompliant with emerging trends of the Jugendstil period, whilesimultaneously making them less expensive. | ||
| Special Orders Mettlach produced many steins to special order, for both domesticpurposesand for export. In fact, many steins bearing German phrases or versescan alsobe found in an English-language version. While we might suppose that itwould beprohibitively costly, the existence of a sizable number of such piecesindicatesthat it was not. Well-known examples of special orders include anetched steinfor St. Augustine, Florida, which includes a figural alligator handle,threesteins produced for Cornell University, and the Quilmes Brewery(Argentina)stein. | ||
| Handpainted Steins True handpainted designs were used for many custom decorated steins,andthey frequently carry silver presentation lids. While some of these mayhavebeen decorated in the factory, more commonly they were commissioned tolocalartists who worked on either flat or relief matte-finish bodiesespeciallypurchased for this purpose. Although there are a wide variety ofhand-paintedthemes, the most common examples are probably steins decorated withstudentcrests or wappen. These steins are frequently marked on thebase or onthe rear of the body to identify the decorative firm. | ||
 Sizes While the vast majority were 1/2 or 1 liter in capacity, Mettlachproducedsteins ranging in size from 0.05 liter (very few, PUG decorated) to 7.0liters(only one, etched #1161). This etched giant (left), standing 21" tallandweighingabout 11 pounds -- empty -- is signed "C. Warth". The design featurestwo ladies in Victorian costume holding foaming steins of beer, with anImperialGerman Eagle above a very typical incised German verse: Gerstensaftmit Hopfen credenztvon schoner Hand sind jedemWundertropfen im weitendeutschen Land. Juice with hops, With figural stoneware inlaid lid this stein cost 40 DM in 1885, makingitthe most expensive stein offered by Mettlach. The body without lid cost30 DM,for which sum one could purchase 7 or 8 etched steins with inlaid lids. | ||
| Lids Most collectors today feel that without a lid, a stein is incomplete.Thisis especially true for Mettlach, since a very large number of thesteins hadstoneware inserts (inlays) in a pewter ring designed to match orcomplement thebody. While Mettlach steins could originally be ordered without lids,thosesteins were in the clear minority. The various types of lids originally accompanying Mettlach steinsincludefigural (three-dimensional), etched inlay, PUG inlay, fancy pewter,simple domedor low-relief pewter (the most common lids on PUG steins) andpresentation lids(usually silver or silver-plated and probably added to a speciallyorderedlidless piece). Etched steins bore either etched inlaid lids, figurallids orpewter lids. The "Occupational series" provides an excellent exampleof etched lids which complement the themes on the bodies of the steins.PUGsteins were made with either PUG inlays or pewter lids. While pewterlids weremore expensive and more prized than many of the stoneware inlays duringtheheight of Mettlach production, that appeal has been reversed for moderncollectors. Mettlach Artists Recognizing MettlachSteins In addition to a trademark, several other markings typically appear onthebase of Mettlach steins, the most important being a three- orfour-digit incisedform number, and in the case of the PUG, Delft and Rookwood steins, astampeddecoration number. Other marks include a Roman numeral indicating thesize, atwo-digit number indicating the year, and various quality-controlmarks. Steinsmanufactured for export may also be marked "Made in Germany", or evenReg. U.S. Pat. Off. Some Mettlach steins are found without trademarks, but in many casesthemaker can still be confidently identified as Mettlach. If the incisedmoldnumber or the stamped or painted decoration number is present it may beused tolook up the piece in a Mettlach reference book. If the mold numbercannot befound, or if it is partially obliterated, the digits should be comparedwith thedistinctive appearance of known examples. Other typical marks -- thesizenumber, the year, the quality control number -- are useful to implyMettlach.The inside should show a characteristic bright white glaze, similar inappearance to porcelain. Above all, the decoration appearing on thestein shouldbe exceptionally clear and clean, and the stein should show overallexcellencein design and quality of production. Summary "early wares" - applied relief, frequently tree-trunk motif,used platinum highlights etched - full color, normally matte finish, detailed designs where the designis flat but detail and color separation is provided by incisedblacklines which can be felt by fingertip relief - the primary design is presented in relief in one coloragainst a contrasting body color, or later, a full color relief design cameo - similar to relief, but the decoration is an unglazed,translucentporcelain- like material against a sea-green or dark blue background(formnumbers in the 2000’s) PUG - the design, made from a printed transfer under the glaze, issmooth tothe touch and has a shiny finish, the design number should be stampedon thebottom of the stein along with the incised mold number (the most commonmoldnumbers are 1526 and 1909) The name Mettlach would not be nearly so well known were it not for theartistic merit and the consistently high quality of their ware. It isnot acoincidence that the manufacturer with the best designs and the bestproductiontechniques was also the most prolific producer of beer steins. Thelarge volumesproduced by Mettlach, the variety of decorative themes and techniques,thenumber and quality of the artists they employed, the willingness toexperimentand their continual innovation -- both artistic and technical -- giveamplewarning: while we can analyze and theorize to great lengths, Mettlachbroke morerules than they followed, and new examples continue to surface. ReferencesHistory of Villeroy & Boch - http://www.villeroy-boch.com/History.246.0.html?&C=GB&L=en Kirsner, Gary, 1987, The Mettlach Book, Glentiques Ltd., CoralSprings, FL. Prosit, quarterly publication of Stein CollectorsInternational, 1965to present (numerous articles displaying growing knowledge and theoriesaboutMettlach wares, techniques and artists). Thomas, Dr. Therese, and Post, Anton, Villeroy & Boch Mettlach1885 -1905, Hans J. Ammelounx, Wheeling, IL, 1975 Thieler, E. R., Making Steins in an Old Monastery, bookletreprintedby Stein Collectors International in 1971 KERAMIK 6, Buchverlag J. B üchel,Triesen/Lichtenstein (German and English). | ||
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