Trench Art

[Vwdoyle]

Hi Guys,

I picked up this really cool piece of trench art yesterday.  Is there any way to figure out when it is from?  It measures 14 3/8" tall with a 3 5/8" diameter. 

[Rauville]

Is that the diameter measurement of the base?

The vast majority of these pieces were made from WWI 75mm French artillery shell casings. Can you read the markings on the base?

[Vwdoyle]

Hi Rauville,

Thank you for your response.  The base markings are just the hammered in design.  There are no markings that would indicate type or year etc.  I have attached a pic of the bottom which also has no markings.

[fancypants]

With that rough-ish diameter , perhaps a German "88" shell from WW2 ?

Somebody did spend some time on it & it sure looks nicer than many that I've seen , Vwdoyle !

[Vwdoyle]

Thanks fancypants!

Is this something I should buff out or leave as-is? 

[fancypants]

I'd suggest just leaving it as-is , and perhaps a light coating of furniture wax (buff it to remove excess wax , if you wanna) as needed , to help keep the 'rust' at bay .

Sure wouldn't polish the metal (down to bare) to make it shine , though ... patina is our friend !