Bohne Skull Steins, et al.

If availability today is indicative of their popularity 100 years ago, then the porcelain skull steins produced by E. Bohne Söhne of Rudolstadt, in the German state of Thüringen, were clearly among the most popular character steins of their time. While it is possible to count on the fingers of one hand the number of surviving examples of many antique character steins, Bohne skull steins seem to appear in almost every beer stein auction, and are as popular with collectors today as they were with German students and others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It will probably never be known which manufacturer conceived and produced the first porcelain skull stein. What is certain, however, is that the Bohne factory was by far the most prolific and successful of the skull stein makers, producing at least eleven different varieties. In addition to the steins known to have been made by Bohne, there are also a substantial number of porcelain skull steins in existence that display many of the characteristics of Bohne skulls, some of which are known to have been made elsewhere and others that have not as yet been attributed to a specific manufacturer. The purpose of this article is to first, provide a “mini-catalog” of skull steins that can be attributed to Bohne without question and second, to set out in some organized form what we know (or don’t know) about the provenance of a number of other antique porcelain skull steins. In so doing, it is my hope that readers will be moved to reevaluate any skull steins in their possession and possibly make a discovery or two that will add to our knowledge in this most interesting of stein collecting sub-specialties.

Known Bohne Skull Steins

Skull on Book — Perhaps the most well-known and often seen of the Bohne skull steins is the popular “Skull on Book.” As its name indicates, the skull portion of the stein sits on a Commersbuch (commerce book) on which are written the words “Gaudeamus Igitur,” recalling a German university student song which advised the young to live life to the fullest, because in the end we all will turn to dust. As can be seen in figure 1, this stein was manufactured in three different sizes — 0.5-liter (No. 9136), 0.4-liter (No. 9136/4) and 0.3-liter (No. 9136/3). At least one 0.6-liter version and larger number of 0.25-liter versions of this stein have also been seen. However, these have been shown to be merely the 0.5-liter and 0.3-liter steins, respectively, with the fill lines moved up or down as necessary.

Figure 1 Figure 2

The 0.5-liter Skull on Book stein was also made with a music box base which, as shown in figure 2, required an expansion of the “book” to about double its normal width.

Figure 3

Skull — Bohne also made a pair of skull steins without the book base, one with a 0.5-liter capacity (No. 8423) and a 0.3-liter mate (No. 8423/2), both of which are shown in figure 3. In addition to having been seen with known Bohne marks, both the 8423 series and the 9136 series discussed above are fully documented in the earliest of two known Bohne catalogs, leaving no question as to their origins.

Skull/Devil Combination — A third type of confirmed Bohne skull stein combined a skull face with the face of the devil in a unique back-to-back arrangement (figure 4). Here again, the stein was made in two sizes, the first with a 0.4-liter capacity (No. 5940), and the second a 0.2-liter version (No. 5940/2). Neither of these steins appear in any catalog that has survived to the present day, but both have been well documented through base markings as the work of the Bohne factory.

Figure 4 Figure 5

Figure 6

Not unlike the largest Skull on Book, the 0.4-liter version of the skull/devil stein is known to exist with 0.5-liter capacity markings produced by the simple expedient of moving the fill line from a point about three-quarters of an inch from the top to very near the rim. While the stein will clearly hold a half liter, the raised mark makes no allowance for the normal foam head that is the natural result of pouring a beer. In at least one case, a 0.5-liter version overcame this problem with the addition of an extra ring of porcelain around the top of the stein (figure 5, left). Although this contrivance provides sufficient room for the foam, the resulting elongated foreheads (particularly on the skull) produce an disproportionate appearance that is somewhat less than aesthetically pleasing.

One example of the skull/devil stein is also known to exist on a “Commersbuch” base (figure 6). The dimensions of the book are similar to those used to produce the music box version of the Skull on Book stein. However, for reasons that are likely to forever remain a mystery, it would not appear that the music box was ever installed.

Figure 7

Double-Faced Skulls — The final two confirmed Bohne skull steins again made use of the back-to-back heads style to produce a pair of 0.4-liter double-faced skulls. The first (No. 5368) is the more elaborate of the two (figure 7, left), having been adorned with crossed scythes on the side opposite the handle and what appear to be holly garlands decorating the base below the skull faces. Take away the scythes and the garlands and what is left is the second of the two Bohne double-faced skulls, which is far more rare and, as yet, does not have a known mold number (Figure 7, right). However, both steins have been seen with identifiable Bohne base marks.

Porcelain Skulls Attributable to Other Manufacturers

Schierholz — It should come as no surprise to antique character stein enthusiasts that one of Bohne’s rivals in the porcelain skull stein market was the Thüringen porcelain factory of Schierholz & Sohne, located not far from Rudolstadt in the town of Plaue. Knowledgeable collectors can often be heard in debate as to which of these two factories produced the “finest” porcelain character steins. Whichever side you take in such a debate, it is an undeniable fact that Schierholz skull steins shared many of the hauntingly realistic traits of their Bohne counterparts, including separately molded “jaw bones,” and numerous other features aimed at anatomical correctness.

Figure 8

Schierholz is known to have made at least four different skull steins, a 0.4 and 0.5-liter skull on book (0.5-liter shown in figure 8, left), and two skulls sans book in comparable sizes (0.5-liter shown in figure 8, right). Without manufacturer’s markings, it would be difficult to distinguish a Schierholz stein from a comparable Bohne stein absent a clear visual clue thoughtfully provided by Schierholz. Take another look at figure 8 and you will note four small circular indentations in both steins — one on each side of the jaw and one below each eye — that look like they were made by pressing a BB into the soft clay. There are two more indentations in the eyes that can’t be as readily seen in the photographs. These indentations are apparently intended to convey the impression of what are known as “foramens” — openings in the bone that, in this case, provide entry points for nerves. More important to collectors is that the manner in which the foramens were represented make it a simple matter to identify a Schierholz skull stein absent any other markings.

Wilhelm, Munch & Zapf — One long-standing skull stein mystery was apparently resolved recently with a discovery by the late Mike Wald, an avid character stein collector of considerable reputation. Until that time, collectors had been unable to determine the maker of a series of porcelain skull steins most often seen in a 0.5-liter version with a red devil handle, below which the number “1876” is inscribed (figure 9, left). What he found was a copy of the stein with a cloverleaf mark that he was able to identify as belonging to the now-defunct firm of Wilhelm, Munch & Zapf. Although I haven’t personally seen the mark in question, there would not appear at this time to be any reason to question validity of that attribution.

Figure 9 Figure 10

The skull stein with the devil handle is most often seen topped by an inlaid lid. However, it is also occasionally encountered with a flat pewter lid. Presumably the pewter lid was provided for those whose objective was to use the stein for commemorative purposes and therefore required extensive space for engraving.

The same company also produced a version of their 0.5-liter skull with a “bone” handle (figure 9, right). The one in my personal collection appears to be numbered “1746” below the handle, although the number is poorly incised and somewhat unclear. In any case, it is quite certain that the numbers on these steins are mold numbers and not dates, as might be assumed from looking at a single example of the skull with the devil handle.

A third stein that can now be credited to the firm of Wilhelm, Munch & Zapf is a smaller, quarter-liter stein (figure 10). This stein also has a “bone” handle marked underneath with the number “1747”.

Porcelain Skull Steins of Undetermined Origin

As we have already seen from the previous examples, many early porcelain skull steins have multiple shared characteristics that make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to determine the maker absent some kind of logo or other manufacturer’s mark. In some cases, even though a particular skull stein displays almost all the characteristics of a certain manufacturer, the evidence has so far been insufficient to make a conclusive judgment.

Figure 11

Wide-Jawed Skulls — Perhaps the best example of this problem is presented by the steins that have come to be known as the “wide-jawed skulls.” A 0.5-liter version in my collection (figure 11) was represented in the auction from which it was purchased as being “by E. Bohne Söhne” which, for the uninitiated, has a different meaning than “marked E. Bohne Söhne”. To the best of my knowledge, there are no existing examples of wide-jawed skulls “marked” E. Bohne Söhne. However, the stein has many characteristics that would lead one to believe that this is a Bohne skull. Viewed from the side (figure 12), two of the most telling of those characteristics are apparent.

Figure 12

The first is the shape of the handle. Almost all Bohne character steins used the handle in a manner designed to stabilize the stein by extending it down flush with the bottom of the stein. The stabilizing handle is a somewhat unusual (though not unique) characteristic and a strong indicator of a Bohne product.

A second Bohne-like characteristic is the external capacity mark which, although again not unique to Bohne, certainly adds credibility to the proposition that this was a Bohne product. Further weight is added by the overall decorating style and other aesthetic characteristics that would lead one to believe that this was, indeed, a Bohne stein.

Figure 13

On the other hand, there are a fairly substantial number of wide-jawed skulls known to exist and none that I have seen or had described to me display a Bohne mark, although such a mark is normally seen on perhaps one out of every three Bohne steins. Another Bohne characteristic which also tends to show up on the bottom of about one out of every three pieces is a small number that appears to have been made with a thin pen or a single hair brush (figure 13). The number “23” shown in figure 13 (blown up to about three times its normal size for visibility) appeared on the bottom of a Bohne skull/devil stein. I’ve seen numbers such as this ranging from “1” to “46” and have concluded they represent some type of decorator identifier. However, I’ve never seen one on a wide-jawed skull, although I’ve had the opportunity to look at numerous examples. That being the case, my personal opinion is that, on balance, attribution of wide-jawed skulls to Bohne is premature, at best.

Figure 14 Figure 15

Should it be shown that the wide-jawed skull is, in fact, a Bohne creation, it will raise the number of different Bohne skulls by at least four, since it is known to exist in 0.5, 0.4, 0.3 and 0.125-liter sizes (figure 14), not to mention multiple examples of customized versions sporting student crests or the markings and fittings of the 17th Hussar regiment in Braunschweig (figure 15), which adopted the skull as its defacto symbol.

Figure 16

Skull with Entwined Snakes Handle — The final stein to be presented here has also, on various occasions, been attributed to Bohne, based on little more than the general stylistic evidence. However, the two examples I have seen (figure 16) have no external capacity mark and the entwined snakes handle is unlike any other on a known Bohne character stein. There are some similarities to Bohne steins, as there are with all the non-Bohne steins discussed above, but my guess is that if and when the manufacturer is finally identified, it will not be Bohne.

Conclusion

The discussion above presents what I believe is the current state of the art with respect to antique porcelain skull steins (ca. 1890-1935). However, I don’t doubt for a minute that there are additional skull steins out there that have not yet crossed my radar screen, and almost certainly examples of steins that I’ve mentioned with identifying marks that would answer some of the open questions. If, after taking a look at any skull steins in your own collection, you can add new information to what you’ve just read, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], or contacted through Prosit by mail or telephone. Assuming such information is forthcoming, you may be sure that it will find its way into a future Prosit article to be shared by all interested collectors.

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*This is a revised version of an article that originally appeared in Prosit, the Journal of Stein Collectors International, Vol 2, No. 31, September 1999.

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