Description: This beautiful pewter pokal or vase was made in Germany around 1900, give or take a couple of years.

It is made of high quality pewter in the form of a large beaker. The pokal has a very stylish and elegant form and repousse relief-decorated bowl showing two people riding a snow sled down the mountain. Very impressive and nicely designed.

This style is called Jugendstil - the German version of Art Nouveau. All the elements - the shape of the bowl, the feet, and the relief decor are all parts of a beautiful and stylish design. This is the established German Jugendstil style of around 1900-1910, it is more minimalistic and geometrical than French and Belgium Art Nouveau style.

Most likely, the pokal was intended to be a sled/toboggan competition trophy - the back side shows an empty medallion ready to be engraved with a presentation inscription.

The pokal shows "F&M N" manufacturer's mark and "1801" model number. This mark belongs to Felsenstein and Mainzer - a prominent pewter manufacturer and wholeseller firm in Nuremberg, Bavaria. They were operational from 1886 till 1918 when they were bought by the Bing Brothers. Felsenstein and Mainzer were well known for their "Norica Zinn" - a special kind of robust pewter alloy.

The pokal is 8.25" tall with 4" diameter of the opening.

It is in excellent condition with no damage or repairs. It shows some uneven patination that needs some cleaning, but I always leave this matter to the buyer - there are different opinions about cleaning pewter. Some people think it should be polished to get the original silver look, some insist on leaving it in the age-related patinated state.