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Third Reich Veterans’ Schellenbaum Top
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Third Reich Veterans’ Schellenbaum Top (Item FLAG 4-12; VETS 2-13) |
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DESCRIPTION: Here is one of the Shellenbaum pole tops that were the first types used in the late 1920s by the Kyfhauserbund and other veterans’ organizations that were formed by ex-soldiers of the First World War. These men were highly respected and celebrated by the German populace and by the National Socialist government and the Führer Adolf Hitler. The finial is for either a flagpole top or a top for a Schellenbaum. This was one of the most characteristic and instantly recognizable features of the German military band. It was often referred to as the “Jingling Johnny.” The Schellenbaum began its life as an actual musical instrument that could be shaken and rattled in percussive fashion—somewhat reminiscent of the standards carried by the ancient Roman legions. It gradually through the ages evolved to carry a small banner at its top and so became the symbol of the particular group or unit that carried it and represented the command of the military formations it identified. No longer emitting musical sounds when the armies marched it now was considered the standard motif, but eminent in regal dignity. This one being a very early example looks much like the Schellenbaum type that graced the elite Kaiser Guard formations such as the Gardes du Corps or the Garde Grenadiers. In fact, it may even have been such, and the swastika as seen in our images may well have been added after the National Socialist Machtergreifung (Ascension to Power in 1933). Schellenbäume were often bought by the local townsfolk near the unit’s garrison and given to the band to cement the bond between the military bandsmen and the local population. It is essentially a Germanic tradition, and to find an antiquated one such as this is very fortunate indeed. The piece measures a little over 12 inches high and is about 5 inches wide at its widest point. It is all brass and quite ornate in its design with a musical harp as its central design surrounded by floral motif. It is an impressive piece of Teutonic history.
PRICE: $480.00. Reduced to $350.00. |
