This is a very neat piece. It is an ersatz M1910 mess kit made from sheet metal and coated with a very thick tin plating. The maker mark is an oval with a B inside it. It is also marked D.R.G.M. and includes a unit marking IR 174. The unit marking is on both the top and bottom. This represents a brief transitional period between the aluminum M1910 and the M1914 and 15 etc... It is in very good condition with just a few small rust spots, generally near a metal seam or overlap. Despite the few bits of rust, the condition is extremely good for almost any WWI German mess kit let alone one this early and uncommon. It appears to be almost unused.
Of all the variations of WWI German mess kits, this is one of the rarest. It was only made for a short time and very early in the war, so there were not many to begin with, and few survived. It is remarkable that it survived in such good condition.
