#78 • Trench Art 37mm Shell: An Unfinished Piece That Answers "How Did They Do That"? Questions

Part of TRENCH ART & WWI Memorabilia (live auction by Bannerman Auctions)

High bid $220.00

Status: Sold

Category: Britain

Trench Art 37mm Shell: An Unfinished Piece That Answers "How Did They Do That"? Questions. If you collect Trench Art, you have no doubt been asked (or perhaps even wondered yourself) "How did they do that?"  This 37mm shell is the piece that you can display to help answer that question.  The brass shells were annealed to soften them, then filled with a substance that would act as the anvil upon which the relief work and pattern embossing of backgrounds could be accomplished.  This particular 37mm shell is still discolored from heat, is filled with lead, and what appears to be a hammer handle or perhaps a E-tool helve that was used to turn and manipulate the piece when it was hot.  The trench art work is nothing special - normal floral motifs against a stippled background, base with a 1917 dated headstamp.  In Jane Kimball's massive trench art collection there were two such shells. I kept the best one for this exact purpose - demonstrating how the work was done, but now it is time to give another collector that same opportunity to put this key, informative piece in their collection. Estimate: $400 - $600