Villeroy & Boch #1786, “St. Florian” |20291| Collection Paulo Falcon

Villeroy & Boch - mold 1786

From the collection of Paulo Vik Falcon

Stein Villeroy & Boch #1786, “St. Florian”.

Text:
“Hilf Du heil’ger Florian,
wir fangen’s zweite Löschen an.
(Help thou Holy Florian,
we begin the second extinguishing.)

Typically seen with a pewter “tiled” rooftop lid and a ceramic dragon head thumblift. Other variations include a smooth pewter rooftop lid, a pewter lid with a relief depiction of Munich, and varying steeple pewter lids mated to a either a pewter or ceramic dragon head thumblift. Deduct 20% for versions with either Munich lid or the steeple lid.

St. Florian was an officer of the Roman army who, after confessing his Christianity, was scourged, set on fire, and finally thrown into the river Enns with a stone around his neck. His recovered body was eventually removed to the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian, near Linz. St. Florian is regarded as the patron of firefighters and is invoked as a protector from danger of fire. The “second extinguishing” in the text is a reference to the ability of beer to extinguish thirst.

[link]

View the collection of Paulo Vik Falcon