Posted 8 years ago
Efesgirl
(1017 items)
This is the most beautiful piece of trench art I've, so far, seen. The detail is fantastic. Looks like there were numbers on the bottom, but these have been pretty much polished off. I tried to make a photo of what is left. I measured it, and it comes to about the same as a 100mm shell. Bottom heavy.
Maybe this is a post war piece.
I wonder who Herman was. I wonder why this work of art ended up in a thrift store.
Mine now. Herman has arrived. :)
Thanks for looking!
Lovely Pot, May I call you Herman from now ? ;-D
A lot of work went in making it!
LOL kyra! Well, why not...but make it Hermoine, hahaha!
Great find.
I love this!! I've never seen one of these before, but now I have to have one myself! I love items like this. My collector addictions have been expanding from trunks for the last year or so.
jscotto363 - the shop owner didn't realize that this was trench art. Had she known, the price would have been a good deal more!
Thanks to all who looked and loved.
I love this type of art Bonny! I'd never heard of trench art before seeing Scott's pieces a while back. Such a cool piece! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, incredible artisanship, the finial on top is as good as any jeweler could fashion. Love this, Bonnie!
Doesn't look like trench art from what I see:
- Base welded to the sides (not unheard of but not typical) as a shell would be one piece
- Don't see any center primer on the base
- Odd design on the base bottom
- Name looks applied vs. hammered out
Everything I see would lead me in another direction.
Maybe some additional photos of the primer/ markings and the interior will change my initial assessment.
scott
scottvez - That is not a design on the bottom. It was polished by whomever made it. I can see the numbers on the bottom, but because of the polishing the numbers have all but been removed and therefore very difficult to photograph.
Trench art takes many different forms. Nowhere does it say that an object is only considered to be trench art when formed from a single piece of militaria. This is a 100mm shell casing ( I measured it) which as been transformed into a beautiful object by someone who thought a great deal of a person named Herman.
http://trenchart.net/About_Trench_Art.html
"What is Trench Art:
Trench Art's most basic definition is: Something made from the debris of war or made to represent something military. To take this further, according to acknowledged trench art expert Nicholas J. Saunders, trench art is, "Any object made by soldiers, Prisoners of War and civilians, from war material, as long as the object and the maker are associated in time and space with an armed conflict or its consequences. The phrase"Trench Art" although catchy is a somewhat inappropriate phrase, implying that it was created in the trenches, which are associated with the First World War. While many pieces were made in the trenches or close by, the majority made during the first World War was not produced in the "Trenches" but in the machine shops or hospitals or in some town miles behind the front lines. The vast majority of what is called trench art was produced between 1919 and 1939 when it became popular to visit the battlefield sites to see where a loved one fought and sometimes died."
I am very familiar with trench art (I own HUNDREDS of pieces)-- probably have hundreds POSTED on CW.
Sorry to disappoint you but your piece does not look like trench art.
Your 100mm shell casing shows welding at the base. Why would someone cut the base off and then weld a piece back on vice just using an intact shell?
Where is the primer?
"Maybe some additional photos of the primer/ markings and the interior will change my initial assessment. "
scott
Did it occur to you that a part of this shell casing might have been damaged and was removed by the creator of this piece? Rather than waste the casing, it was simply remodeled into a workable piece?
All the items listed on these pages are trench art.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trench_art_-_National_World_War_I_Museum_-_Kansas_City,_MO_-_DSC07640.JPG
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-art/trench-art.htm
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/15534340_lighter-trench-art-ww1seal-of-united-states
http://militarianz.freeforums.org/aussie-trench-art-from-france-ww1-t2290.html
I am familiar with trench art.
This piece shows THE PRIMER, which would appear in the center of an actual shell:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/35268-ww1-trench-art-military-cap
Photo #1/#2 show the center primer and how it appears from the outside of a shell. Photo #4 shows the interior.
If there is a primer in your "100mm shell", it is not visible in any of your images.
scott
Much as I enjoy getting in a good argument with scottvez.............I have to agree with him on this one.
fhrjr2 -
http://www.trenchart.org/
"OTHER TRENCH ART PIECES:
Many other types of trench art were made by soldiers, civilians, and prisoners of war during the war and afterwards. Some artists used brass from shell casings modified in a number of ways; others used cartridge clips, shell fragments, damaged wooden propeller blades, and rifle cartridges to produce artistic souvenirs. Artillery shell projectiles provided another site for painted designs, often very beautiful and elaborate. The universal smoking habit of soldiers made tobacco humidors, lighters, match boxes covers or match safes, cigarette cases, ashtrays and snuff boxes popular items for artistic conversions from shell casings and cartridge clips.
Hand-crafted models are splendid examples of 'soldier art'. Aeroplanes and tanks were popular subjects; less common are models of artillery pieces and submarines.
Letter openers or paper knives, often made in a scimitar style from pieces of flat brass soldered to cartridge casings, were a popular 'trench art' item, and an amazing number of these have survived. The more interesting ones of this type are engraved with the names of battles or individuals. Other letter openers utilized copper driving bands or shell fragments to create souvenir letter openers. Napkin rings, another common domestic item, were made from scrap brass and less commonly from aluminum salvaged from crashed zeppelins. Coal scuttles and dinner gongs, mainstays of most households at the time, were replicated in trench art, often with intricate engraving. Models of coal scuttles are sometimes referred to as sugar scoops or in the smaller 37mm size as salt scoops. Picture frames were made from scrap brass or wood. Wooden aeroplane propellers provided raw material for picture frames and clocks. Aluminum from canteens or mess kits was transformed into a variety of objects unrelated to sordid everyday warfare. Trench art finger rings were produced in quantity from brass, aluminum or from silver coins. Regimental badges made into pins and lockets, often called 'sweetheart jewelry' were made by soldiers and commercial firms to confirm the bond between soldiers at the front and their loved ones at home. "
I know about the headstamps - I have a matching pair of 100mm shell casings which are now vases. The bottoms are intact. That is not to say that the piece shown here is also not trench art. And, the name "Herman" is not a separate piece. It has been created from the inside.
No one is debating that trench art came in an endless variety of objects. See my CW postings and you will find most/ many of the items cited.
Not every brass object is shell brass. I would further add that the brass on the sides of your piece look too thin to be from shell brass.
Without something showing these originated as SHELL brass, there is little to suggest it is trench art.
scott
scottvez - This canister is bottom heavy. You would not want to drop it on your foot.
You said it yourself: trench art comes in an ENDLESS VARIETY of objects. Unless you have seen every single piece of trench art ever made, then I think the possibilities are much too numerous for you to decide that this is not a piece of trench art. Of course, you are entitled to your opinion.
btw - WWII happened where I live - the Netherlands.
I'm sticking to my guns on this one. :-)
My opinion is NOT based on the form of the object!
My opinion is based on the fact that nothing that I can see, shows that it was MADE FROM SHELL BRASS.
You stated: " This is a 100mm shell casing".
There is more to a shell casing than size alone. A "shell casing" has a CENTER PRIMER.
Your object does NOT have a center primer, so it is easy to conclude that it is NOT a shell casing.
Not every round piece of brass that corresponds in size to an artillery shell comes from an artillery shell.
scott
I have collected trench art for about 35 years and own HUNDREDS of pieces of trench art.
I have personally handled THOUSANDS of pieces of trench art.
I have examined images of TENS OF THOUSANDS of pieces of trench art (I am an active online buyer and have reference works).
Your experience of living in the Netherlands aside, I don't see trench art here.
scott
Bonnie, my dear friend, please don't argue with someone who has personally handled THOUSANDS, examined images of TENS OF THOUSANDS, and owns HUNDREDS of pieces of trench art. If he says it isn't trench art, IT ISN'T TRENCH ART. Understand? Understand?? UNDERSTAND???
We'll see.....
LOL, I see I was not persuasive!!! :))
Herman, in German, means army man or soldier.
Thank you, Collectomaniac. Didn't realize that, so I looked it up.
http://www.behindthename.com/name/herman
Meaning & History
Means "army man", derived from the Germanic elements hari "army" and man "man".
I love ya, katherine...... :) :) :)
Loves you too, Bonnie .... :))