Vintage German Army Soup Bowl - RZM Marked

German RZM Soup Bowl

This is a German pressed-metal soup bowl with the RZM mark stamped into the underside. It has a deep center well for soup or stew and a wide, flat rim, and it is sized for a single serving. Collectors of German mess kit and field equipment buy it for the marking, and reenactors use it to put a period-correct piece on the table at living-history camps.

Features

• RZM Stamped Base — A circular RZM mark is struck into the underside, identifying the bowl as a licensed period manufacture.
• Pressed Metal Construction — The bowl is formed from pressed sheet metal and shows no seams or joins in the well.
• Deep Center Well — The bowl drops well below the rim, so it holds soup, stew or porridge rather than just a flat portion.
• Wide Flat Rim — A broad rim surrounds the well and gives you somewhere to hold the bowl or rest a spoon.
• Turned Rim Edge — The outer lip is formed over to stiffen the rim and leave a finished edge.
• Stepped Base — The underside steps down to a flat bottom so the bowl sits level on a table or field surface.
• Genuine German Issue — This is original period equipment carrying its maker's licensing mark.

About The RZM Mark

RZM stands for Reichszeugmeisterei, the central office in 1930s and 1940s Germany that licensed and controlled the manufacture of equipment for party organizations. Makers working under that system stamped their goods with the RZM logo, and on this bowl it appears as a circle on the base. For a collector, the stamp ties the bowl to that licensing system and to a specific period, which is the main reason marked examples are sought after over unmarked tableware.