set of 4 'humpen'

From the collection of Paul Van Eck

4 'nedkan' humpen

4 'nedkan' humpen. Pewterer's mark 'ML'

A set of 4 so-called 'humpen', made in the westerwald area in the early 19th or late 18th century.

Such steins were used in the Low Countries (Netherlands and Belgium). This type of stein is always found with the same type of decoration: gray stoneware with some blue bands near the top and near the base, and a blue rectangle on the front (reminiscent of a label).

Sometimes these steins have a pewter peg in the body to indicate a measurement. When they have a peg, they are often also marked with the capacity, usually indicated as 'Nedkan' (a Dutch measurement, where1 nedkan is the same as 1 liter).

These four examples are all without a peg, but they have a capacity of circa 1/2 Nedkan or 1/2 liter. All four still have their original pewter lid. All lids have 3 initials and a number on them, most likely indications to their original owners. The all stand circa 14 to 15 centimeters tall (excluding the lid).

One of the four lids has a pewterer's mark on the inside (see the last image). The pewterer's initials are 'ML', placed over a rose, but I have not yet been able to identify the pewterer.
The rose marking was in use in Holland from the 17th century until the end of the 18th century, indicating that this stein was made in the late 18th century, rather than in the early 19th century.

View the collection of Paul Van Eck

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