Wilhelm Tell

Catalog No. 186

Pottery or stoneware, relief, 0.3L, pewter lid.

According to Swiss legend, an Austrian bailiff named Gessler demanded that homage be paid to his hat, which he�d placed atop a pole. When Wilhelm Tell refused, he was seized and condemned to death. He was granted his life on the condition that he demonstrate his skill as an archer by shooting an apple from his son�s head. He did that successfully and was later able to escape and kill Gessler, sparking a rebellion against Austrian (Hapsburg) rule and resulting in the formation of the (Old) Swiss Confederation in 1291.

The depiction of Tell and his son on the stein is taken from a statue in Altdorf, Switzerland, sculpted in 1895 by Richard Kissling.