Chain of office for the rector of Karlsruhe Polytechnic, design: Rudolf Hoffacker and Rudolf Mayer, maker: B. H. Mayer/Pforzheim, 1902, chain length: 88 cm, medal diameter: 5.8 cm, gilt silver. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Office of the President.
Almost concurrently with the granting of the name Fridericiana, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden also bestowed on Karlsruhe Polytechnic a chain of office for its rector. This gesture was intended to provide a visible symbol of the institution’s new university-like ranking following its recently won right to confer doctorates. A purveyor to the court produced the Fridericiana’s rectorial chain by commission of the Grand Duke. Three different craftsmen and a company contributed to the creation of this gilded silver chain. Karl Hoffacker (1856–1919), director of the School of Applied Arts and the Museum of Applied Arts in Karlsruhe, had drawn the overall design. Rudolf Mayer (1846–1916), a renowned medalist and teacher at the School of Applied Arts, designed the centerpiece of the chain: a medal featuring the profile of the Grand Duke. This medal was stamped by the B. H. Mayer mint in Pforzheim. The chain itself was meticulously designed and crafted by court goldsmith Nikolaus Trübner (1849–1910). The chain links are adorned with stylized pomegranates, symbolizing power, life, and fertility. These links alternate with ornamental knots, from each of which two fruit-bearing branches extend. Directly above the medal is the provincial escutcheon with a crown crest, also framed by plant motifs. The escutcheon, pomegranates, and branches are enameled in red and green. as