Rare Silver Windmill Wine Cup Stein Germany Ca 1880 Start Price USD 6,000.00 Current Price USD 6,000.00 Time Left 6 days 10 hours 10 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, November 15, 2008 End Time Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Location Netanya See more about 'Rare Silver Windmill Wine Cup Stein Germany Ca 1880' Description Pasarel Mouse Over the Images Below to Enlarge The pictures do not do justice to this magnificent item.   ESTATE Extremely Rare Antique Silver Windmill Wine Cup / Stein, Germany, Ca 1880. Estate! Extremely rare antique silver (NOT silver plated) windmill wine cup / stein, Germany Ca 1880.Superbly executed, highly detailed model of a windmill on a beautifully decorated wine cup with foliage and figures engravings.   Please see more information, functioning details and provenance below. The back side of the windmill has a funnel and a staircase with a sculpture of a climbing man and an additional figure at the entrance. The item was designed with great attention to the smallest details.There is a clock on the back of the windmill and a face looking out through one of the side windows.On the roof there is a small sculptured bird.Marked twice with German silver marks, on the cup and on the windmill wing. For a similar item please see Kunstauktionen Johannes Vogt at www.vogt-auctions.de sale number 25 lot number 45. Until recently we described and listed this item as a Jewish ritual spice box (Besamim) but following the email we received from a very knowledgeable expert in this field – Mr. Stephen Lee Smith we changed our description according to his email:   Hello Billy,   Re: your question on 'windmill cups',    I will start with the function first.   Please note the "wand" and the numbers (not really a clock [as you stated] - as it only has one "hand" / pointer!)    [1] At an upper crust merchant's home (few could afford such a "toy" and drinking with friends (rarely in a bar, as most of these are silver, but sometimes taken there I assume) - one of the drinkers, usually there were several involved, would invert the cup and would fill the cup up with whatever was the home's choice of schnapps or liquor.   [2] Then he'd spin the windmill wanes by using his fingers, this gets the vanes started in rotation,   [3] He would then blow, AND BLOW, into the attached tube (looks like a skinny horn - you called it a funnel) which is now with it's opening upwards towards him.    [4] He then had to drink the contents of the cup before the vanes stopped going around.    If not then he to pay some type of penalty, which was determined by which number the hand / pointer stopped on.    There are all sorts of variations of 'the game', such as buying the next round of drinks if one could not drink all in time before the wands stopped (as some of these cups are rather large or the liquor hard to swallow), or if any booze was spilled, or to paying money / the bar tab based on the number the pointer stopped on; to betting on who can come closest to any pre-picked number. The list "of games" is pretty much endless and are very similar to the "dice cup" games, of which there are hundreds.   A wind-flag (not shown on yours), the cock /dove on the thatched roof, and little figures on the banistered staircase, must have some long forgotten significance -- but by the late 1700's all (never say all, right?) the cups evolved to almost always include them.    To my mind, the determining factors are the age, quality and size of the piece. They also made "minis", usually dated in the late 1600's - early 1700's.   I have one mini in my collection. As the late 1800's came, the Germans made them bigger.  Not too many out there on the retail market!    Besides yours, I've only seen two on eBay in the last few years. (That doesn't mean I agree with your asking price,)   I also have a small, later German made one, made into a bell - it has no tube, but all else is the same.     I know your shop likes to use the word "Judaica" as a selling "catch point" (I've been looking at your ads for  many months), but these really have no relationship to the religion at all,  most having been made in the Netherlands and Northern Germany, and not used for any (known) religious occasion.    Please advise you got this much of my return message -along with any questions you might have about the above.   In friendship from Virginia, the US State God made on the 8th day!   Steve Stephen Lee Smith Stein Collectors International Master Steinologist and Member No. 0115 Editor; THE PEWTER BEER STEIN COLLECTORS AND RESEARCHERS GROUP NEWSLETTER. Founder: Gambrinus Stein Club of Va. Md. and DC- 1971 Co-founder; The Beer Stein College - 2002; (www.beersteincollege.com) Contributor; PROSIT (the SCI magazine), The SCI web sites Library, The Beer Stein Journal, The Classic Collector, The Mid Atlantic Antique Journal. (THE LAST THREE O.O.P.)   Active member of the following S.C.I. chapters: Thirsty Knights, Keysteiners, Carolina Steiners, Gambrinus Stein Club. Latest lectures: 1 at the National SCI Convention in Philly, 2 @ St. Louis SCI Mini Convention, 1 in Cape Cod.  Keysteiner’s in September '08, :Upper New York in October '08, and SCI Mini -Convention in Chicago, also in October.     SOLID PROVENANCE - this item is part of the estate of the late renowned Israeli Judaica and antique dealer and collector - Mr. Shlomo Noah Riesel. Mr. Shlomo Noah Riesel - born in Tiberius, Israel in 1921 and passed away in Tel-Aviv in February 2007, was a collector, involved in research of archeology and Jewish culture history. He was the owner of the well-known Menora Antiques & Jewelry store (see picture below), which became a center for collectors and connoisseurs of Judaica and antiques, which was located in Allenby St., Tel Aviv. His other store - located at the Hilton Tel Aviv Hotel, was the Archeological Shop (see picture below), where researchers of the Jewish history used to gather vast information on the culture and archaelogical findings in Israel. The store in Allenby St. has gained the trophy for the most elegant and well designed store. His private collection, a result of 60 years collection was recently sold in Tel Aviv and this item is part of his estate.       Measurements : Marks : Height: 24cm. / 9.45in.Base diameter: 8.3cm. / 3.27in. See item description. Weight : Condition : 288gr. / 9.26oz. Very good, normal wear and tear. Contact Us : We are happy to provide fast customer service over email, phone, or fax. Email us 24 hours a day: sender@isdn.net.il Or click the "Ask Seller A Question" link at the top of this page. For full contact information please click here Our number: 0100-9785 If you are the winning bidder, click below to check out: We accept payment by PayPal, Bank to Bank Wire Transfer and direct credit card payments through our online secured server. Payment should be received within three working days from purchase. Israeli buyers to pay the current VAT, which is roughly 15.5%. Returns and Refunds: We guarantee the items we sell are as described. Should we accidentally ship the wrong item, you may return that item. ALL returns must be authorized. Buyer must notify us within 48 hours of receipt that the item differs from its description. Refunds are given only if the item is not as represented, the return was authorized by us, and the item was shipped back within five days from authorization date. 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