Pair WWI Trench Art Brass Shell Vases 1919 (Auction 2026-06-05, Lot 267)

$289.13

Europe, Post-World War I, ca. 1919 CE. A pair of brass trench art vases formed from repurposed artillery shell casings, each with a tall cylindrical body rising from a crimped base. Their elegant flared rims and sculptural lower sections transform military remnants into refined decorative objects. Both vases are richly engraved with decorative imagery. The upper bodies display finely incised floral and vegetal motifs, while one example is dated 1919 and further embellished with acorn forms and geometric ornament. The companion vase features figural imagery, including a scene with a figure in a boat, along with additional floral designs and a triangular patterned band near the base. Trench art objects such as these were commonly created by soldiers or civilians from spent shell casings in the years immediately following the First World War. The combination of engraved decoration and carefully crimped shaping demonstrates the transformation of wartime materials into personal works of craft and remembrance. Size (both the same): 3.5″ Diameter x 13.4″ H (8.9 cm x 34 cm)

Provenance: private Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA collection

Condition: Good. Some rubbing and loss of detail with slight bending to rims, as well as light surface wear throughout. Otherwise, both are intact and very nice.