KPM Berlin, Smoke Bell & West German Crystal

Updated August 25, 2026

Eclectic collection of three distinctly different decorative and collectible bells featuring German porcelain, art glass, and lead crystal. The first is a KPM Berlin porcelain Freedom Bell, modeled after the famous Freedom Bell installed at Rathaus Schöneberg in West Berlin in 1950. The white glazed porcelain bell features raised relief decoration of torchbearers and the inscription “That this world under God shall have a new birth of freedom.” Period examples are also marked with the October 24, 1950 dedication date and KPM’s blue scepter mark. The original Berlin Freedom Bell was a gift from the American people and was dedicated on October 24, 1950. Measures approximately 4.5" tall x 4" wide. The second is an unusual opalescent art glass smoke bell, designed to suspend above an oil or kerosene lamp to help catch or deflect smoke and soot. This example has a molded hobnail-style body with a dramatic ruffled/scalloped rim accented in blue. Similar period glass smoke bells are documented with applied colored rims and scalloped edges. Possibly Fenton, though no maker's mark has been confirmed, so we would not definitively attribute it to Fenton. There is a chip to one of the scallops; see photos for condition. Completing the trio is an impressive Echt Bleikristall amber lead crystal bell, made in West Germany, standing approximately 8" tall. It features a warm amber crystal bell body with deeply molded/cut vertical decoration, a tall clear faceted crystal handle, and suspended clapper. Comparable Echt Bleikristall examples are identified as hand-cut West German lead crystal containing over 24% lead oxide. A wonderfully varied grouping spanning fine German porcelain, traditional lamp-related art glass, and West German lead crystal. See photos for details.

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