Description
PRUSSIA – COFFEE/TEA CREAMER – PERSONAL TABLE SERVICE – PRINZ EITEL FRIEDRICH
Prinz Eitel Friedrich (1883-1942) of Prussia was the second of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Augusta Viktoria’s six sons. He married the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg’s former Grand Duchess Sophia Charlotte in 1905. They had no children, then their marriage ended in 1926. Like all House of Hohenzollern princes, he was enlisted in Germany’s most elite infantry regiment, the 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß (Foot). During WW I, he was a legitimate military commander, commanding this regiment on the Western Front, where he was wounded. After recovering from his wound, he resumed the regiment’s command. He later commanded a Guard Troop Brigade on the Eastern Front. After the war, he was involved in a number of groups, including the Stahlhelm Bund. He died in 1942, one year after his father, the former Kaiser. Each of the Kaiser and Kaiserin’s seven children had their own personal table service, just like their parents. Of course, their dishware’s variety and breadth were quite limited compared to that of Kaiser Wilhelm II. We do not often see examples of the items owned by the princes.
Thus, we are excited to be offering you a coffee/tea creamer from Prince Eitel Friedrich’s personal table service. Like all House of Hohenzollern dishware, the item was manufactured by Berlin’s KPM. It was their official purveyor, and had been from König Friedrich der Große’s time. At first glance, the white design looks deceptively simple. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is etched with a subtle trace work of lines and a basket weave.
The creamer stands 3 3/4″ tall, measures 2 ½” in diameter at the rim, and 2 1/8″ in diameter at the base. A delicate gold trim band encircles the rim. Its handle features gold designs against the white porcelain. A floral motif extends from the handle’s top and bottom. On the cup’s side is Eitel Friedrich’s royal cypher in gold. Over the cypher we see a multicolored Hohenzollern Crown. The cup’s bottom displays the KPM hallmark and 1924, the year the creamer was manufactured, as well as an Iron Cross. It is interesting to see a royal’s personal item such as this AFTER the empire’s fall. (My theory is it was a replacement for a broken piece). The creamer’s condition is excellent. It is a truly wonderful example of a Prussian prince’s tableware.
