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Lot Essay
The gilt inscription on the lustre panel cleverly includes a cryptic date. Without the capitalised letters and split lines, the inscription reads carissimo indulgenti benigno pio iusto patri pietatis ergo offert filius M.I.G.M. which means 'The son M.I.G.M. offers this out of devotion to his dearest, indulgent, kind, pious and just father'. If the capitalised letters are isolated and re-ordered, the letters form part of a date in Roman numerals; MDCLLVVV, which adds up to 1715, and with the addition of the eleven capital 'I's, the resulting date is 1726.
The coat of arms has yet to be identified, but is presumably that of the Moerlinin family, and initial research suggests that both the Moerlinin and Thomas families lived in Thuringia. More research needs to be carried out, but it is possible that there may be a connection between Moerlinin and Höroldt, as Höroldt executed a number of inscribed and dated tankards at this time for people he knew. The present unrecorded tankard is an important addition to this group, especially as it is the only armorial example. See A.L. den Blaauwen, Meissen Porcelain in the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, 2000), no. 41. The tankard decorated by Höroldt for his father-in-law, which was later sold in these Rooms on 28th March 1977, lot 1, is now in the C.L. David Collection, Copenhagen, see Erik Lassen, 'Die Sammlung David Meissen Porzellan' Catalogue (Copenhagen, 1985), pp. 70-73.
The coat of arms has yet to be identified, but is presumably that of the Moerlinin family, and initial research suggests that both the Moerlinin and Thomas families lived in Thuringia. More research needs to be carried out, but it is possible that there may be a connection between Moerlinin and Höroldt, as Höroldt executed a number of inscribed and dated tankards at this time for people he knew. The present unrecorded tankard is an important addition to this group, especially as it is the only armorial example. See A.L. den Blaauwen, Meissen Porcelain in the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, 2000), no. 41. The tankard decorated by Höroldt for his father-in-law, which was later sold in these Rooms on 28th March 1977, lot 1, is now in the C.L. David Collection, Copenhagen, see Erik Lassen, 'Die Sammlung David Meissen Porzellan' Catalogue (Copenhagen, 1985), pp. 70-73.