Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.
Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term 'trench art' is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.
Reference books are an essential part of any collector's knowledge and growth in their particular field of interest. The 2004 book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball is a comprehensive study of Trench Art and does a wonderful job in presenting the historical context of trench art throughout history. The book covers about 400 pages and includes hundreds of illustrations as well as mountains of primary source material and original photographs that document the evolution, styles and construction of the trench art genre. This French shell casing dinner is on one of the pages.
The caption from the page is a lovely description for the gong:
Dinner gong made from a French 75mm shell casing suspended from a brass frame and mounted on an oak base. The striker is made from cork with a bamboo handle, and a bakelite plaque is mounted on the base. 18 ½ in. high by 9 ½ in. wide.
The overall condition is quite nice with tarnishing present on the brass pieces. The striker is still solid with a nice cork ball that gives the gong a nice ring to it!
A lovely example ready for further research and display.
- This product is not available for international shipping.
Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.
All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).
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