An Antique Russian Enamel Coronation 'Cup of Sorrows', 1896

the front with the double-headed Romanov Imperial Eagle, the reverse with Nicholas II cypher, Imperial Crown, and the date 1896, both within cartouches surrounded by interlaced geometric decoration, gilt bands to rim, top and bottom

Height: 10.3cm

Diameter (top): 9.5cm 

Diameter (bottom): 7cm

Stock Reference: LH 1825

Very nice example, in an above average condition.

These enamel cups were made to celebrate the coronation of Nicholas II of Russia in 1896; and, traditionally, handed out to the people as free souvenirs. On the morning of the 18th May 1896, over half a million revellers gathered on the Khodynka Meadow (an army training ground found on the outskirts of Moscow). A rumour swept through the crowd that the cup contained a gold coin. There was a stampede and in the confusion over a thousand people were trampled to death, many of them trapped in the network of military trenches and drainage ditches which crisscrossed the field.