Part of a dinner service made for Adolf Hitler is coming to the UK's Townsend Auction Galleries on September 9.
The two soup bowls, two dinner plates and coffee cup and saucer are a chilling reminder of the actuality of the Nazi regime. Each is stamped with a swastika, a depiction of a Third Reich eagle, and the Fuhrer's initials, reports the Eastern Daily Press.
 Previous sales suggest the £250 ($389) estimates are low. This plate from the same service sold for $700 earlier this year. |
Made towards the end of the second world war, the items were once part of a much larger 51-place set, which was discovered in the manufacturer SS Allach's deserted factory near Dachau following the conflict.
The dinner service was split up and sold to four buyers, including the consignor of these pieces. He has already sold two items previously.
Although never delivered to Hitler, the fact that they were intended for his use warrants an estimate of £250 ($389) a piece, according to the auction house.
Each item will be sold separately.
A soup bowl from the collection and a serving platter sold for $700 and $1,100, respectively, in January - suggesting that the estimates for the current auction are low.
David Townsend, owner of the auction house, told the publication: "I understand it is a sensitive issue, but we are auctioning the pieces purely as items of historical interest.
"It appears that Hitler never actually used them but they were made for him and I believe he may have been involved in designing them.
"They are in excellent condition and are extremely rare."
A watercolour thought to have been painted by Hitler hammered for £5,000 ($7,808) at Mullock's in August, while a box of cigars made for Luftwaffe commander-in-chief Hermann Goering also sold last month, for £1,300 ($2,035).
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