New year plaque
New Year's plaques or so-called New Year's cards are small cast iron reliefs that are usually issued at the turn of the year by iron foundries with art casting production. The best known come from the Royal Prussian iron foundries in Berlin, Gleiwitz and Sayn . The Lauchhammer and Buderus art foundries in Hirzenhain still issue New Year's plaques today, although these can also be made of cast bronze.
The New Year's plaques from the Berlin foundry were made between 1805 and 1848 and sent in red or blue leather cases to the royal court, senior officials of the Prussian state and important business partners as a gift of honor. On the Berlin plaques, which are approximately 7 × 9 cm in size and usually only 2 mm thick, you can see, among other things, views of the iron foundry or the most important products of the annual production. The miniature plaques are not only unique examples of relief art, but also “documents” and “chronicles” about the development of the Berlin foundry and its products in the most important four decades of its existence.
literature
- Elisabeth Bartel, Gundula Ancke, Annette Bossmann, Jan Mende, Andreas Teltow: The royal iron foundry in Berlin 1804–1874. Stadtmuseum Berlin Foundation , Willmuth Arenhövel Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-922912-61-3
- Willmuth Arenhövel: Iron instead of gold. Prussian iron art casting from Charlottenburg Palace, the Berlin Museum and other collections. Verlag Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-922912-02-8
