Emanuel Geibel
Villeroy & Boch "Musician on the Nile”.
A detailed description of this mug is presented in the "Beer Stein Library" in the "Mettlach stein catalog" section. To see this, just click on the link:
[link]
In the Beer Stein Library, this mug is presented in the version with an inlaid lid. The lid bears the Latin inscription "O tempora, o mores!". Translated, it means "O times, o mores!". In my case, the mug is made with a massive multi-level fully tin lid.
The mug is decorated with a drawing that has a very interesting geopolitical background from the mid-19th century.
"Oh the times, oh the customs!" - is a phrase first uttered by the Roman orator Cicero in 70 B.C. deploring the condition of the Roman republic. However, in this case both the text and the imagery were intended as a criticism of British colonial adventuring in Egypt during the second half of the 19th century, and are taken from a song entitled Ein Lustiger Musikante (A Funny Musician). Written in in 1840 by Emanuel Geibel, it tells the tale of a pyramid-destroying encounter on the Nile between a musician and a crocodile.
Franz Emanuel August Geibel (17 October 1815 , Lubeck – 6 April 1884, Lubeck) was a German poet, playwright and translator.
I present to your attention the lyrics of the song "Ein Lustiger Musikante" translated from German:
- A merry musician was once marching along the Nile, o tempora, o mores!
Then a large crocodile crawled out of the water, o tempora, o mores!
It wanted to swallow him whole—
who knows how?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Musica!
- Then the musician took his old violin, o tempora, o mores!,
and stroked it delicately with his bow, o tempora, o mores!
Allegro, dolce, presto,
who knows how that happened?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Musica!
- And as the musician struck the first note, "O tempora, o mores!" the crocodile began to dance,
"O tempora, o mores!" Minuet, gallop, and waltz—
who knows how it happened?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Music!
- He danced in a circle in the sand,
o tempora, o mores!
And danced around seven ancient pyramids,
o tempora, o mores!
For they have been wobbly for a long time
—who knows how that happened?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Musica!
- And when the pyramids
slew the devilish beast,
O tempora, o mores,
he went to an inn
and looked after his stomach,
O tempora, o mores,
Tokay wine, Burgundy wine, who knows how that happened?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Musica!
- A musician's throat is like a hole, o tempora, o mores!
And if he hasn't stopped yet, he's still drinking today, o tempora, o mores!
And we, we're drinking with him, who knows how that happened?
Hurray! O tempora!
Praise be to you always, Lady Musica!
To hear the sound of this song, simply click on this link: [link]
You can watch a video about this mug at the following link: [link]
View the collection of Paulo Vik Falcon
| type | stein | material | stoneware |
| producer |
Villeroy & Boch producer info | mold | 1132 |
| designer/decorator | |||
| capacity | 1/2 | ||
| design date | 1908 | ||
| height | 16.0 cm (appx. 6.2 inches.) |
We see another item in our database with the same mold number and the same producer:
Show items by producer Villeroy & Boch
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