Need experts' opinion, is this a real one or replica?

https://www.rubylane.com/item/1686671-RLx2ex20Sx20111/Royal-Prussian-Tazza-made-for-King?search=1

I saw this on antique show and try to buy it. The seller can provide provinance and know most of the history of this piece. Also I can found the it shown on the book of " Kaiserlichs Gold und Silber, Schatze der Hohenzollern aus dem Schloss Huis Doorn". This piece looks exceptionally gorgeous. However, what I am afraid of is that if it is a replica, then I will lose a lot of money.
Is there anyone can give me some suggestions on this piece? Thanks.

 

even if authentic...how do you know that the price is not too high, or too low..???

I would ask for provenance first before giving him money....
& I wonder why such a great item is not in a major auction house..????

 

Me too, that is my major concern

 

Is this a big area for collectors.....
then why has it not been bought already ???
Maybe keep your money....for something else you are sure of !!

 

Does the book say where the tazza was at the time it was photographed for the book?
This one did better than expected at Chirstie's, but nothing like $9,000.

 

Today is the first day of the show and I come up very early, it just started for 30 min when I set a contract with seller

 

Woot, this is a steal. only 1500 USD on year 2013.

 

It didn't say where it is after WWII(the book does show before WWII, it's all written in German but I saw dates), the seller said he got this from the family which deceased member is a US officer who acquired this piece during WWII.

 

The engraving isn't what someone would expect for a gift to a king,the crown looks chased poorly and the initials were done by someone very heavy handed to dent the piece as it is.

 

So you think it should be a replica? That's what I am afraid of.... If it is a replica I definitely will have to avoid it.

Thank you very much for your information.

 

Something acquired during the war would make me nervous. US military officers weren't paid so well as all that. If I'm interpreting this chart correctly, $8,000 was the most you could make. I know it bought much more then, but Prussian Imperial silver...?

 

@Bronwen Thank you for your informaton and advice.
Do you think it looks authentic or looks fake? Will you avoid it?
I negotiate for 20 min and we decide $7200USD for this piece. I really know nothing about western silverware and just start to collect them.

 

US military officers weren't paid so well as all that

$100 or less to the GI who actually looted it would be more like it. MATS planes took relief supplies to Germany and came back loaded with 'personal effects' that no-one asked questions about.

I do not think it is a fake, I just think it is way overpriced, but i am a conservative buyer with an eye to investment value.

 

An expert would need it to be examined in person,impossible to really judge from a photo.

 

Even though I love it very much, I would like to pass it. I gonna go there to cancel my contract and get my 1000 deposit back. Thank you all for your suggestions.

 

Edit: See you have already come to a conclusion. It is sensible, I think. Certainly you need much more information before deciding to buy. Here is my reply anyway.

This is out of my area of expertise. My concern with war time acquisition is not so much with real/fake as it is with the legitimacy of how it was acquired. This needs to be considered about something if it came back from Germany with an American. (Where does the book say it was before the war?)

I agree with komokwa. If I were considering such a purchase, I would want the opportunity to do a little checking on the provenance first, to see if it is even plausible. McHale is new on Ruby Lane but have been in business they say for 40 years. My feeling is that they honestly believe the piece is what they say it is & they seem to do their research. Still feel it is reasonable on your part to ask them how they (& you) can be sure it is not a fake & that whoever sold it to the American had the right to sell it.

There is a lot on the Internet concerning fake/reproduction Prussian medals, badges & coins. If there are a lot of fakes/reproductions of items like the tazza, they are not showing up in the top search results.

Just as general advice, it may not be wise to spend a lot of money on anything of this sort when you do not yourself have the expertise to confirm or question the seller's representation. I'm confident in my ability to assess cameos from the last 200 years; I do not buy ones represented as ancient Greek or Roman because I know I do not know enough to tell real from fake, good from bad, reasonable price from outrageous.

 

I gonna go there to cancel my contract and get my 1000 deposit back.

I hope the dealer is co-operative with that.

 

If he's honest....he will be !

 

Some pieces in the collection of Huis Doorn are quite ordinary.

 

Extremely. This is very likely to be one of the many items that were stolen in the Netherlands. They stole from Dutch citizens as well as from state-owned property.

Any object from Huis Doorn that was sold, was sold after the war by the Dutch state. The decision to confiscate the contents of Huis Doorn was made in 1943 by the Dutch government in exile. The allied governments certified this decision, so from then on the contents were internationally regarded as property of the Dutch state.
Some items from Huis Doorn were sold after the war, through an official institute dealing with (former) German property in the Netherlands. They would not have sold it for peanuts to a US officer, and they could still claim this tazza.

My advice, do not buy it. Hope you got your deposit back, will you let us know?