The Elusive German “Swan” Tea Cup
I’m getting ready to fly off to Germany soon and it has me thinking… am I going to ever find that tea cup with the swan handle again? Back in 1999 when I visiting Germany for the first time, I remember seeing a beautiful porcelain tea cup that had a swan head/neck shaped as the handle. I had never seen anything like that before. I swore to myself I would some day purchase said tea cup… except now I can’t remember who makes it!
I can’t remember exactly where I saw it either… there’s only two places. One is either in the fancy porcelain display case at the Neuschwanstein Castle or at a fancy porcelain shop we went to in Munich. At the castle, it would have been a copy of the swan service that King Ludwig II would have used.
There are several German porcelain manufacturers that could have made it:
- Meissen
- Rosenthal
- Dresden
I know it was not made by Villeroy and Boch or R.S. Prussia. I thought perhaps by Nymphemburg since the palace is associated with swans… but I can’t find a single cup with a swan handle by them.
Here’s what I have found through my search on the internet:
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| Dresden swan |
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| Meissen Swan cup from 1820. |
I don’t think the cup was all gold. I think it kind of looked like the ones below, but I thought there was more blue.
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| From Meissen’s “Swan Service”, pattern from 1737. |
Maybe it was like this one: But, the bottom is purple. I thought it was blue. Plus, I don’t think it is manufactured any more and I think the ones I saw were repro of old patterns.
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Dresden demitasse tea cup from 1895-1918 on a Rosenthal blank with an eagle handle
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I would check ebay or set an google alert. Also Replacement Ltd.
I know exactly what you mean when you should have purchased something you love and you can never find it again…Good luck with your search…Phyllis
Hi,
is it antique or repro? It would make sense that it might be from the Neuschwanstein gift shop because the whole theme of the castle is in "Schwans" (Swans), but I've been there a few months ago and didn't see any. It could however be somewhere in Bavaria because King Ludwig II also has ties to the Munich Residenz, didn't see any at that gift shop either and he also built the Linderhof Palace, haven't been there yet so I can't deny or confirm if they would have them at their gift shop. It's a good chance they are from Bavaria. I think your best bet would be ebay. Hope this helps. I've done posts on all of these places but Linderhof.
-Brittany Ruth
Amazing. I havn't ever seen anything like them. Gorgeous. I would love for you to link up to my ongoing party – Inspire Me –http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/08/179th-inspire-me-tuesday.html Hope to see you there. Hugs, Marty
Ms Lemon – I have now set an alert… thanks for the advice
Phyllis – The search is driving me crazy!
Brittany – Thanks for the help… I know it was somewhere in Bavaria! Just can't remember where!! I'm headed to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof in September and will be trolling the gift shops. Move away everyone, I'm on a hunt!
Marty- I'll plan to link up with your parties! Love the blog!
Sorry for the time delay in answering. I have cup that matches the Meissen one you pictured above. Underneath, the mark is of the German maker RPM. The saucer that is with the cup has an anchor on the bottom which I haven't been able to identify.
Sorry, I had identified the saucer, it was Carl Tielsch. The mug is marked with RPM though.