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# 36369
"Paul Huber, Baron von Penig, Hauptmann of Austrian 3rd Infantry Regiment", Miniature, 1815/17
Price: 2500 EUR
(please note additional 10% tax applies for transactions concluded within the European Union)
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According to regulation of sitter's uniform (1798-1817) and under consideration of the Austrian "Canon Cross" (awarding were performed in 1815) on his chest, this miniature on ivory was made in the period between 1815 and 1817. Painted by a good Austrian portrait miniaturist it is a portrait of an officer of 3rd Infantry Regiment ("Erzherzog Carl") of the Austrian Army, as we can recognize from his uniform with the white coat, blue collar and white buttons. Besides the so-called "Canon Cross" with which many Austrian soldiers, participants of the Liberation (anti-Napoleonic) Wars of 1813-1814 were awarded, he as well bears a cross of the Austrian Military Maria-Theresia Order. In the officer list of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the year 1819 (practically 1818) only one (!) officer possessed both these awards - the Knight Cross of Maria-Theresia Order and the "Canon Cross". The name of this officer is Hauptmann (Captain) Paul Huber, Freiherr (Baron) von Penig (see our image nr. 9). Through our brief web search the fact emerged that here we are dealing with a very known and merited Austrian soldier.
According to the "Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich" Volume 9 (see our image nr.9) Paul Huber Baron von Penig was born on 22 October 1771 in Wuernitz, Lower Austria and died on 3 June 1850 in Innsbruck. He was a son of Kreissekretär (Province Secretary) Johann Huber (no nobleman!) and of latter's 21 (!) children Paul was the eldest son. At the age of 10, on 10 February 1787 he enrolled in the Chevaux-Legers-Regiment "Kinsky". After 10 years of service he was transferred to the rank of Fähnrich (ensign) to Infantry Regiment No. 3 on 1 June 1796. On 16 April 1799 he was promoted to Unterleutnant (2nd Lieutenant), then to Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) on 1 November 1800, and finally to Hauptmann (Captain) on 1 May 1809. He served in the 3rd Regiment until in 1819 he was transferred to Infantry Regiment No 12, then to Infantry Regiment No 24.
In 1827 he was appointed "Platz-Major" (Town Major) of Innsbruck and remained in this function until his retreat in 1847. On 29 October 1838 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and on 25 June 1847, after 59 years and 3 months of military service he retreated (at the same time being promoted to Colonel). He died three years later.
From his enrolling in the army in 1787 and until 1817 he participated in all campaigns against the Turks and the French (18 campaigns in total!). At the assault of Mannheim (1795) he was wounded twice, for the third time he was injured in the Battle of Aspern (May 1809), but his most brilliant military feat he carried out in 1813 in Saxony. The city of Penig and the bridge over the river Mulde were taken by the enemy. On 8 October 1813 the avant-garde of Count Klenau's Corps advanced, lead by Lieutenant-Field Marshall Mohr while the 2nd Bataillon of the Regiment No 3, where Huber was in, formed the vanguard. All attempts to seize the city of Penig and the bridge remained fruitless, and advancing Klenau's Corps was restrained. Huber and his company were located in front of the Chemnitz Gate. In the dawn of 9 October, informed by a patrol the enemy remains quite inside the Gate, Huber approached and attacked the enemy. He made an advance in all quickness, burst the Gate and put the guards to flight. After intruding into the city, Huber arranged his company in the streets and advanced through vigorous fire of the enemy's small arms to the very point of a division towards the Mulde Bridge and thus cut off the possibility of retreat for all skirmisher located in the back alleys. When Huber and his division reached the river Mulde the enemy started a fire from case shots from the other side of the river. Huber and his brave comrade Johann Franz Horn (later Baron von der Mulda) headed towards the bridge in disregard of the fire and with such resolve that the enemy had no chance to clear away the bridge. He took the bridge by assault, chased the occupation out of the suburb Alt-Penig and seized the hill on the other riverside of Mulde, from where the surrounding area was controlled. Thus Klenau's Corps could advance unhindered. For this military feat Huber was awarded with a Knight Cross of the Military Maria-Theresia Order in 1815 and ennobled by the Kaiser to the title of Baron of Penig (in honor of the captured Saxonian city) in 1817.
Provenance: German private collection
lejul0512
Condition: good, in original golden (see image nr. 7 with hall-mark) frame with sitter's curl on verso
Creation Year: 1815/17
Measurements:UNFRAMED:6,7x5,3cm/2,6x2,1in FRAMED: 7,6x5,7cm/3,0x2,2in
Object Type:Framed miniature
Style: Portrait miniatures
Technique: Watercolor on ivory
Inscription:-
Creator: Austrian School
Creator Dates: -
Nationality:Austrian
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