Lot 141, Auction 4/12/2026: WWI Argonne 1918 Trench Art Shell Lamp

$260.00

In stock

Western Europe, France, World War I period, ca. 1918 CE. Struck from a spent brass artillery shell and worked in bold repousse, this evocative lamp bears a crisply punched five-point star and the inscription “Argonne 1918,” its tulip-like fluted mouth and stippled ground giving the pièce a refined, patine silhouette. Fashioned by a French, American, or German soldier, the casing was skillfully hammered and chased, then later fitted with electrical components for domestic illumination, transforming battlefield detritus into cherished décor. The inscription refers to the Meuse – Argonne Offensive of 26 September to 11 November 1918, the climactic Allied push through the Argonne Forest of northeastern France in which the American Expeditionary Forces fought alongside French armies against entrenched German positions; the largest operation in U.S. military history to that date, it exacted immense casualties and hastened the Armistice. Size: 3.8″ L x 3.2″ W x 22.8″ H (9.7 cm x 8.1 cm x 57.9 cm)

Such trench art served as a poignant souvenir – possibly commemorating service in the campaign – with the star motif perhaps alluding to U.S. service emblems yet widely used across vernacular wartime art.

Still functions as a lamp; however, use is not recommended unless professionally rewired due to potential risk of electrical shock or fire.

Condition: Lightbulb fitting and lampshade fitting are both loose. Some scuffs and abrasions to surface, commensurate with age. Nice remaining detail and scattered patina. Still functions as a lamp; however, use is not recommended unless professionally rewired due to potential risk of electrical shock or fire.

Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015

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