VINTAGE 1896 RUSSIAN IMPERIAL CORONATION ENAMEL CUP ANTIQUE BEAKER SORROW RUSSIA

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

VINTAGE 1896 RUSSIAN IMPERIAL CORONATION ENAMEL CUP ANTIQUE BEAKER SORROW RUSSIA:
$270.00

TheKhodynka Cup of Sorrows, also known as the Coronation
Cup, the Sorrow Cup, or the blood Cup,was made for the
coronation ofTsar Nicholas II&Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna
in 1896. The cup bears the cyphers of Nicholas and Alexandra
surrounded by a geometric pattern with theRomanoveagle on
the opposite side.

The beaker is among many that were distributed along with food presents and commemorative scarves to celebrate thecoronation of Nicholas II, as had been the long-standing tradition. On the morning of 18 May 1896, over half a million revelers gathered on the raggedKhodynka FieldinMoscowin anticipation of the presents and especially the commemorative cups (enameledtableware was still a great novelty at the time). That was far more than the field could safely accommodate, especially considering the many trenches and pits that dotted the plain in front of the Tsar\'s podium, because the entire area was normally used as a military training ground. In the confusion and panic that ensued, over a thousand people were trampled to death in what has become known as theKhodynka Tragedy. This event was taken as an omen of things to come for the rest of Nicholas\' reign. The coronation cup became known in Russia as the Cup of Sorrows and the Tsar himself got the nickname of \"bloody Nicholas\" - despite his best efforts to compensate the families of the victims.