Maritimes Silber im Industriezeitalter: eine "Silberkogge" von 1908

Abstract

In May 1908, one of Flensburg’s most important shipowners - Jens Jost (1828-1910) - celebrated his golden wedding anniversary, on which occasion he and his wife received a silver-plated centrepiece in the form of a "cog." This gift was presented them by the Flensburger Schiffergelag (shipowners’ and merchants’ association founded in 1580) whose chairman Jost remained until his death. Following its transfer from the family estate to the collection of the Flensburg Maritime Museum, the centrepiece was published for the first time in the museum’s pictorial guide in 1985 and next mentioned in the 1989 publication Maritimes Silber im Industriezeitalter (maritime silver in the industrial age) by Detlev Ellmers. Its designation as a “cog” was based upon the knowledge which the late nineteenth century possessed about late medieval shipbuilding, and the centrepiece was accordingly anything but a precise model of this ship type. Yet despite the lack of knowledge as to its actual appearance, as a centrepiece in the historicising style the cog was an extremely popular motif in the handicrafts of late nineteenth-century Germany. The examples include many that are indicative of contemporary circumstances in German navigation, readable in the symbolism and allegories of their pictorial programmes. This "Flensburg cog" was made during the phase of history in which Emperor Wilhelm II - and with him the German Reich - were struggling to gain preponderance on the seven seas. Within the context of this vision, the centrepiece reveals itself as a symbol of the claim to power. The depictions on the starboard side of the ship model personify the continents of America, Africa and Asia. In place of the usual personification of the continent of Europe, however, the national symbol - the "Deutscher Michel" - is used in conjunction with his attribute, the head of cabbage. This depiction is to be found on the bow of the ship. The "Deutscher Michel" is conceived of here as the successor to the merchants of the Hanseatic League (Ill. 4), whose member cities comprised the port towns and commercial centres of nearly all the countries of Northern Europe. In the pictorial programme of this cog, "Michel" is seen as the outpost of world-wide trade. The identity of the maker of this silver cog and/or author of its pictorial programme - for which there are no comparable examples - unfortunately remains a mystery. There can be no doubt, however, that the message conveyed by this centrepiece was understood by Jens Jost and his contemporaries.