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NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD BREMEN Tea Pot, Silver Plate #29 By Wilkens of Bremen.
Own a peice of history!
This is a silver (silver-plated “hotel silver”/Alpacca) teapot made for the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL, also known as North German Lloyd), the major German shipping line based in Bremen.
The prominent circular crest on the body reads “NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD BREMEN” surrounding the company’s emblem (typically a crossed key and anchor, often with additional heraldic elements such as a lion or related motifs). This matches documented NDL shipboard silver. The number “29” stamped inside the lid is almost certainly a Lloyd inventory or piece number.
The Silversmith / Maker
The maker is Koch & Bergfeld of Bremen (founded 1829 by Gottfried Koch, later partnered with Ludwig Bergfeld; still operating today as a silver manufactory).
History:
Before World War I, Norddeutscher Lloyd was one of Koch & Bergfeld’s largest customers. The firm designed and produced exclusive silver-plated tableware and cutlery specifically for the shipping line’s passenger ships, with detailed design books recording items for different classes. Koch & Bergfeld was one of the three major German silverware factories of the era (alongside Wilkens of Bremen and Bruckmann of Heilbronn) and specialized in both solid silver and high-quality silverplate .
About the Teapot Itself
• Style and date: Ornate chased and engraved decoration with scrolling foliage, floral motifs, and the NDL crest on one side. Footed base, curved spout, scrolled handle, and hinged lid with a finial. This matches known examples of NDL silver coffee/tea pots from around 1910 (a nearly identical pair of coffee and tea pots with the NDL crest sold at Christie’s).
• Material: silverplate (common for shipboard use due to cost, weight, and durability under heavy service). The heavy tarnish and wear are typical of items that saw service on liners.
• Purpose: Part of the tableware service used in the dining saloons of NDL passenger ships. NDL was a leading transatlantic line (famous ships included the Bremen, Europa, Kaiser Wilhelm der Große, etc.) and also operated other routes. Silver services were ordered in large quantities and inventoried with numbers like the “29” seen here.
• Condition notes from the photos: Expected age-related wear, polishing marks, and interior residue consistent with long use. The lid and hinge appear intact.
History:
Norddeutscher Lloyd itself was founded in 1857 in Bremen and became one of the world’s premier shipping companies. It competed intensely with HAPAG (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt) before the two merged in 1970 to form today’s Hapag-Lloyd. Shipboard silver from the pre-WWI and interwar periods is collectible among ocean-liner enthusiasts.
