Gottfried Vertraugott MAETZCKE (1726-1770), Late Regency style wine jug

pr. 12 silver, repoussed, engraved, internally gilded; height 33.5 cm, width ca. 23.5 cm, base diameter 15 cm; weight 1106 g;
Kozuchow (Freystadt); ca. 1748.
On a multi-leaf foot with crest, arched, domed and ribbed; the body is spherical, divided by vertical ribs into 12 fields; in the lower part decorated with four, symmetrically arranged, convex shells; in the upper part - decorated with subtle engraving with ribbon and floral motifs, with a cartouche in the center, on which a tree trunk with a pair of branches is depicted obliquely, and in the helmet a male figure between leafy branches; below, an engraved foundation inscription: "VON MILDER STIFTUNG DES WOHL SEELIGEN HERRN GREGOR ASMANNS ANNO 1748"; wide neck of the vessel - divided by ribs and decorated similarly to the belly; triangular beak of the jug - conch-shaped, with a plastic boy's head at the bottom; dome-shaped lid, decorated with puclars and ribs and a shell motif, with a small helm; handle over the hinge bifurcated, ending in volutes; three-granular ear, wrapped with a volute at the bottom and decorated with a plastic leaf and a putti head at the top; in several places: on the bottom of the vessel, on the rim of the foot and on the edge of the lid - the minted municipal mark of Kozuchow - the Gothic "M" in a circle (used in 1740-1770) and the goldsmith's mark - "METZKE" in an elongated oval (used in the second phase of his activity - ca. 1746-1770); in addition, on the foot the inscription: "S. Marck 10 � lot", expressing the weight of the jug in ³³.

Gregor Assmann was a townsman, merchant and mayor of Kożuchów; he died in 1747 and was buried in Kożuchów in the Evangelical church - "Gnadenkirche"; the jug was probably a donation to this church.