John Sandon
Consultant
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Lot 87
An engraved King of Prussia wine goblet, circa 1757-60
15 November 2017, 10:30 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £3,125 inc. premium
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An engraved King of Prussia wine goblet, circa 1757-60
Of drawn trumpet shape on a teared stem and folded foot, engraved with a half-length portrait of Frederick the Great dressed in armour, the bust contained within a decorative scroll engraved along the truncation, the reverse inscribed around the rim 'SUCCESS TO THE KING OF PRUSSIA', 18.8cm high
Footnotes
This glass is derived from the same source print as a glass that was in the A.C.Hubbard and Seton Veitch Collections and another almost identical in the Fitzwilliam Museum. All of the portraits are based on a painting by Richard Houston that was copied extensively on Worcester porcelain mugs. The glass engraver has placed his portrait on a scroll motif similar to that found on the Worcester mugs, suggesting that the engraver copied a china souvenir rather than a print on paper. On the Seton Veich glass (Delomosne catalogue no.32), and on another glass illustrated by L.M. Bickerton (1986), no.857, the engraver has copied the full image from Worcester porcelain including the King's extended hand. The present lot is different as the engraver has chosen to omit the King's hand.
Robert Hancock's well-known print is usually dated 1757 and was used on vast numbers of Worcester porcelain beer or cider mugs. By way of contrast, glasses engraved with the King of Prussia are surprisingly rare, perhaps because they had to be individually engraved and could not compete with the mass production transfer printing method used at Worcester.
The popular portrait after Richard Houston commemorates the Battle of Rossbach during the Seven Years War. Frederick the Great of Prussia was Britain's ally and he was also King George II's nephew. His many military achievements meant that Frederick was almost more popular in England than King George himself. Throughout Britain toasts were drunk to the Prussian Hero.