Lot 53 | Eduard Schürmann & Comp | MAGNIFICENT SILVER COIN-COBERED TANKARD FOR TRAVELLING MARSHAL FERDINAND VON STEUBER AS A GIFT FRIM THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA AMONGST OTHERS

MAGNIFICENT SILVER COIN-COBERED TANKARD FOR TRAVELLING MARSHAL FERDINAND VON STEUBER AS A GIFT FRIM THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA AMONGST OTHERS.

Schürmann & Comp, Eduard. Frankfurt a.M.

Date: Dated 1884.
Technique: Silver with inner-gilding.
Description: Fluted base ring with bosses and laurel frieze. The slightly conical sides with 35 inset
coins on four registers. Stylised flower ornament in the spaces between. The sculptural,
large handle with volutes, mounts and the figure of Hercules with a lion's skin and arms
crossed behind his back, in the style of a herm pilaster. The engraved inscription below
the lip rim, between two circumferential strands of cord: 'Dem Reisemarschall Kammerherrn
F. von Steuben zur' 'Erinnerung an Rumpenheim 1884'. The hinged lid engraved on the top
with a further inserted coin and the names of the donors: 'Kaiserin von Russland. King,
Queen, Crown Prince of Denmark. Princess of Wales. Duke of Cambridge. Grand Duke Grand
Duchess of Mecklenburg Strelitz. Princess Frederick of Anhalt. Prince Wilhelm zu
Schaumburg Lippe'.
Weight: Ca. 2460g.
Measurement: Height 33cm.
Mark: 800 standard silver, maker's mark 'E. Schurmann & Co. Frankfurt A/M' (Eduard Schürmann and Comp., from 1903 Hofjuweliere Scheffler Hessen no.629a).


Provenance:
Family ownership to this day through inheritance.

This magnificent and impressive tankard was presented to the travelling marshal Ferdinand von Steuber (1826-1896) on 26 May 1884 at Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau in memory of or as part of the ceremonial wedding of Elisabeth von Hessen-Rumpenheim to Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau. The ceremony was attended by crowned heads from all over Europe, such as King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark, Maria
Feodorovna, Empress of Russia from 1881-1894 and daughter of the Danish royal couple, and Duke Friedrich I von Anhalt. All these names, together with others such as that of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge, Adolphus Cambridge, can be found on the lid of this tankard. See also the description above. This extraordinary piece is therefore not only an expression of the great esteem in which the donors held the travelling marshal Ferdinand von Steuber, but also a first-class testimony of the times.