Posted 10 years ago
battlegear
(69 items)
WW1 Trench art old brass shell with the image of an Angel on the front & back and roses on each side, the bottom of the shell is dated Feb 1906 , the nose piece next to the brass shell appears to be a ground dug relic I can still see the marking "Hotchkiss" on the bottom edge, the Hotchkiss Mountain guns were in use during the Indian wars and Spanish American War in Cuba back in 1898
Trench Art
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.
battlegear: That is a really neat set! Is it hard to find the neat relic's you own? Any advise on how to find? I like... (;
thanks Coinscoins1977, Ive been a collector all my life, Im always searching for interesting old relics & collectables, sometimes it takes years, sometimes weeks, sometimes tommorow, you never know, sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time.
No scale, but the round just has the feel of a 37 m/m to me. Right?
blunderbuss, your correct it's a Hotchkiss 37 mm rd, this rd was probably fired out of a Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon invented in 1872, it looks like a ground dug battlefield relic.
Great trench art!
The practice of turning war refuse into art continues today.
scott
I'm still trying to figure out how they got the centre section to "bulb" out without it being obviously marked. It is obviously made in 2 pieces. OK Battlegear, you hold the evidence. Can you tell how that was done? (Or a good theory). Obviously had to be hammered from inside & out & must have been a hell of a tedious job. Of course sitting , bored in the trenches, he was probably wondering if he would live to finish his master piece? That one was more mutual murder than war.
buss-- it is one piece. The shells are heated and hammered.
It is a time consuming process, as is most trench art.
scott
I would also add that while the form is called trench art-- the object need not be made in a trench to be classified as "trench art".
Craftsmen (both civilian and soldier) worked on these objects. Some trench art was made in the trenches (or near) but much of it was made in small workshops in towns and camps away from the trenches.
scott
maybe they had some type of special two piece mold with the impressions of the angel & roses, then they heated it up in a furnace to soften the metal to make it easier to tap out the impressions? maybe by filling it with sand or other material and pounded it in from the top and caused the brass to bulge out and form the impressions?
battlegear-- here is a link to a great book on trench art:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/82033-trench-art-an-illustrated-history-by-j
It contains a wealth of information on trench art and the construction techniques and procedures.
scott
thanks scott!
Scott is very knowledgeable about these kinds trench war art.