German Silver Imperial Equestrian Tankard

German silver equestrian tankard with imperial association.

• Straight and paneled sides with low-relief frieze depicting galloping riders, racing through the countryside, trees and buildings in the background; branch borders.
• Split-mounted s-scroll handle with thumb rest.
• At bottom, applied branch and leaf border and open supports.
• Cover hinged and bellied with imbricated leaf rim.
• Top terminated with a cast finial in form of mounted jockey and engraved phrase citing Kaiser Wilhelm I, in an allusion to an officer’s race in Meresburg, a town in southwestern Germany: “Kaiser Wilhelm dem Sieger in dem Offizier-Rennen zu Meresburg am 2 Juni 1878.”
• Appears to be unmarked.

The date inspires speculation because on June 2, 1878, Wilhelm was in Berlin, getting shot at for the second time in a month. On this occasion, Wilhelm was seriously wounded. A medal was issued commemorating the failed assassination attempt, and a similar sentiment possibly inspired the tankard’s inscription.

Kaiser Wilhelm I was the first to rule over a united Germany, which was achieved through foreign minister Otto von Bismarck’s policies. Wilhelm belonged to a long line of military expansionists. He was born in 1797, 11 years after the death of his great-great uncle Frederick the Great. His grandson was Wilhelm II, whose belligerence contributed to the outbreak of World War I.