Porcelain on the yachts of Kaiser Wilhelm II – elegance on the high seas

The porcelain specially produced for the imperial yachts, in particular the SMY Hohenzollern and the sailing yacht Iduna , was manufactured by the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin (KPM) and reflected the representative aspirations of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The plates, cups and teapots bore the emperor's monogram , the motto of the Order of the Garter ("Honi soit qui mal y pense") and the imperial standard .

The design was deliberately simple and modern—a contrast to the magnificent palace tableware—and was based on English models. The porcelain pieces were reordered and supplemented several times, for example, in 1893, 1897, 1899, and 1905 , and remained in use until the yachts were decommissioned during the First World War.