Stunning Pair of World War I Trench Art Vases - France

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Beautiful example of WWI Trench Art (and harder to find as time passes…)
Curated in La Rochelle, France in June … Read more Beautiful example of WWI Trench Art (and harder to find as time passes…)
Curated in La Rochelle, France in June 2026, this stunning pair of vases was clearly made by the same soldier or individual from shell casings dating from 1916 for one and 1917 for the other.
The tradition of artistically handcrafting war souvenirs goes back to ancient times, but the practice flourished during the First World War. The abundance of items created by soldiers in World War I and in the years immediately after gave rise to the term “trench art.”
Some trench art was actually made in the trenches. Other examples were made by soldiers convalescing in hospitals, or shortly after the war before they went home. The pieces were made as personal souvenirs, for family, or sold to other soldiers to earn money. Local civilians and laborers supporting the armies also crafted items from war debris they collected.

Those works of art are becoming more and more difficult to find but can be seen in war museums throughout the world.

The alphanumeric codes represent the headstamp markings and break down as follows:
Casing number 1:
75 DE C: Stands for 75mm de Campagne (75mm Field Gun). This confirms the casing belonged to the ubiquitous French Canon de 75 mm Modèle 1897 (which was also heavily used by US forces during the war).
PD P s: Identifies the manufacturer of the brass casing. It stands for Pinchard et Denys, Paris (or occasionally attributed to the Parc d'Artillerie de Paris).
712 L: Refers to Lot 712 (the production batch number).
17 P: The year of production, which is 1917. The initial or stamp representing the metal supplier who provided the brass alloy for that specific batch.

Casing number 2:
75 DE C: Stands for 75mm de Campagne (75mm Field Gun, Model 1897).
PD P s: Identifies the manufacturer of the brass casing. It stands for Pinchard et Denys, Paris (or occasionally attributed to the Parc d'Artillerie de Paris).
2698 L: Refers to Lot 2698 (the production batch number).
16 P: The year of production, which is 1916. The initial or stamp representing the metal supplier who provided the brass alloy for that specific batch. See less