Help with Russian chalice or trophy please

[peacekind]

I have not been here for some time, I am not sure if I missed the antique board.  I am trying to find information on this item that was brought from Russia in the late 1940's. It looks like a sporting trophy that is hand painted. Thank-you in advance. 

[figtree3]

Are there any marks of any kind on it that might lead to identity of the maker?

By the way, there is no longer an Antiques board per se. Many of the old boards were changed to Groups a few years ago. The old Antiques board is now a Group under the Antiques category. Here is a direct link to the Antiques Group: http://community.ebay.com/t5/Antiques/bd-p/213

It is fine to ask this question here, though. The Antiques group is not all that busy compared to this board.

[peacekind]

Thank-you so much for your help! I appreciate it, I feel so lost but I guess it has been a few years since I visited. I did not see any other markings but I'll double check. Thanks also for the link!😊

[peacekind]

Wow! I need to take a course on the boards, I just checked my profile because I can't figure out why I am an "adventurer" or what it means, and I see I have earned badges and other stuff! I'm excited to learn more and get back to my selling. Thanks again!

[maxine*j]

I don't know if there were GTO trophies this elaborate.  I've seen only various GTO pins and badges, and quite modest tropies.  But the top emblem reminds me of GTO imagery.

From Wikipedia:

Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR (Russian: «Готов к труду и обороне СССР» Gotov k trudu i oborone SSSR), abbreviated as GTO (Russian: ГТО) was the All-Union physical culture training programme, introduced in the USSR on March 11, 1931 on the initiative of the Komsomol. It was a complement to the Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR. While the latter provided Soviet physical education system requirements only for athletes, GTO was a programme for all Soviet people of almost all ages. By the year 1976, 220 million people were awarded GTO badges, while in 1986 the tests were passed by 33.9 million people.

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_for_Labour_and_Defence_of_the_USSR

And look here to see why I thought of GTO:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ussr+sports+trophy+GTO&sa=X&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0ahUKEwjO...

Anyhow, maybe a place to start until someone more knowledgeable comes along.

[maxine*j]

Better link, with more GTO items:

https://www.google.com/search?q=USSR+GTO+pins+badges+sports&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDn...

[olgasot]

I'm Russian, but not that old to remember the 40s.  But I do remember GTO in the USSR. One could qualify or not  ro meet the requirements set in various sports. They called those "norms:. There wre no competitions of any sort. What you have seems to be a trophy  ( кубок) for  a competition. I do not see all the medallions on it, but one with a runner. It could be a Track and Field trophy. Depending on the images one can judge what sport was involved. What other images are on medallions? Anything is written on the trophy itself?

[maxine*j]

Thanks for replying. 

I was wondering if instead of its being a trophy awarded to someone for individual sports achievement, it might have been a presentation piece for someone higher up in Komosol, for work on the GTO program.  I say that only because it does seem to be rather elaborate for a normal sports trophy.  Just a thought.

[peacekind]

Thank-you for this! So many helpful answers, I'm not sure if I reply to each one, bear with me. The man who brought these back was a priest and spent time there. I'm trying to find info for his sister who is 92, ( my boyfriend's mother). I will share with her what I have learned. We don't want to sell, she wants to know the value, lol!

This is him and a book he wrote. 

[peacekind]

Thank-you! I'm wondering if maybe he earned this for being a healthy priest? I chuckle because my boyfriend is a runner and I like that the top figure shows a runner. Maybe he just got it for being a religious man. Thank-you, I posted pictures above. 

[maxine*j]

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@peacekind wrote:

Thank-you! I'm wondering if maybe he earned this for being a healthy priest? I chuckle because my boyfriend is a runner and I like that the top figure shows a runner. Maybe he just got it for being a religious man. Thank-you, I posted pictures above. 

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Uh...  A Roman Catholic priest in the USSR, and one from the outside, at that?  Highly unlikely.

[peacekind]

I don't see any other images painted except floral motif and the large building with clock tower. It seems at the bottom there is a place to engrave but it is bare. There are 11 different medallions representing all kinds of sports. Skiing. Weight lifting, skating, boxing, cycling, swimming and more😊Thank-you so much for your help. It's neat!

[peacekind]

"Uh... A Roman Catholic priest in the USSR, and one from the outside, at that? Highly unlikely."

I don't know what you mean? 

[maxine*j]

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@peacekind wrote:

Thank-you for this! So many helpful answers, I'm not sure if I reply to each one, bear with me. The man who brought these back was a priest and spent time there. I'm trying to find info for his sister who is 92, ( my boyfriend's mother). I will share with her what I have learned. We don't want to sell, she wants to know the value, lol!

This is him and a book he wrote. 

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You know, if all she cares about is the value she'll have to take it to a qualified appraiser and pay the price.  No one here does free appraisals.  The appraised value will vary depending on the purpose of the appraisal. 

Sorry, I misunderstood the purpose of the thread.

Good luck with it.

There's plenty of info on the web about Father Bissonnette and his time in Russia:

https://www.google.com/#q=Father+Georges+Bissonnette

[olgasot]

I looked closer at the medallions. They represent different sports, summer and winter. ones The top medallion has a runner's  image. My guess is that an award is for running in a competition that comprised different sports. Usually the Soviet memorabilia does bear something written on it. Are you sure there is nothing written incorporated in a design?