JSG ESTATE LIQUIDATION

This lot includes two vintage German ceramic beer steins, each fitted with ornate pewter hinged lids featuring decorative spire finials and engraved detailing — a hallmark of traditional West German souvenir and export stein production from the mid-20th century, approximately 1950s–1970s. The first stein features a striking black and amber glazed body with vivid hand-painted polychrome relief decoration depicting a Bavarian village scene with figures, trees, and a riverside castle, accented by scrolling rococo cartouche enclosing the German inscription 'Behüt dich Gott! es wär' zu schön gewesen' (God protect you! It would have been too beautiful), with a rope-twist collar band and a simulated antler-style handle in cream stoneware; it stands approximately 7 inches tall with lid and is marked '0.5L' on the collar, indicating a half-liter capacity. The second stein is taller at approximately 8–9 inches with lid, featuring a cobalt blue and cream relief-molded stoneware body decorated with edelweiss flowers, an Alpine chalet medallion, a standing Madonna-like figure, and a partial German inscription reading 'ein froh Gemüt' (a cheerful spirit), with a decorative rope-twist handle and a more elaborate engraved pewter dome lid with a tall spire finial. Both steins are consistent with production by West German manufacturers such as Gerz, King-Werk, or similar Westerwald-region potteries that produced export-quality steins for the tourist and collector market. Condition is overall Very Good; the black and amber stein shows minor surface wear to the amber glaze at the base and light oxidation to the pewter lid hinge mechanism, while the cobalt stein displays excellent glaze integrity with no chips or cracks visible and bright pewter hardware; both lids open and close properly with functioning thumb lifts.