Antique leather fire bucket featured on Bares für Rares

In a recent episode of the television program ‘Bares für Rares’, an unusual leather object presented by two sellers, Beate and Elke, initially puzzled the host, Horst Lichter. While the host jokingly speculated it might be a prop from ‘Harry Potter’, the item was revealed to be an antique leather fire bucket.

Expert Detlev Kümmel explained that such buckets were essential life-saving tools, particularly from the 18th century onwards in cities with wooden or straw-based housing. During fires, residents would form human chains to pass water from these buckets to the flames. These historical containers were often marked with the owner's name and house number to prevent confusion during emergencies.