A rare Homburg lawn tennis stoneware stein German circa 1900, extremely unusual pewter-lidded 1/2 litre stein modelled in high relief and coloured pre

A rare Homburg lawn tennis stoneware stein German circa 1900, extremely unusual pewter-lidded 1/2 litre stein modelled in high relief and coloured predominantly in dark blue, burgundy and green tones, the main ornament featuring a deep relief study of Emperor Wilhelm II's three sons, Eitel, Fritz and Albert standing together holding lawn tennis rackets with tennis balls at their feet, a cartouche on either side containing German text, the first: ''Bad Homburg, o du sch?ner Ort. Die Lebensquellen sprudeln dort. Den Besten Sport ?bt man dort viel. Lawn-tennies heist dies sch?ne Spiel.'' the second: ''Wie sehen gross und klein so gern Wie Deutschlands, Englands Damen und Herrn Auf gr?nem Platz im Sonnigen Hain Sich dieses Sch?nen Spiels erfreuen.'' Height 20cm., 8in., chip to base In Basic translation, the inscription is a celebration of Bad Homburg where the beautiful game of lawn tennis is played just as it is in England. The Bad Homburg Club is believed to be where the very first German lawn tennis club was established by Englishmen in 1876.