Trench art container / jar ?

Could anyone provide any information on this brass box please?
It's blue lined inside, coming up as trench art when I google lens but I can't see anything on it to show it is from a shell casing and I see online they have numbers on bottoms from casing

Thanks in advance

 

Doesn't look anything like trench art to me. To my eye it's a vintage decorative box from Asia. A photograph of the bottom would be helpful.

Debora

 

Ditto re Debora-A military shell base would look like this-

 

Thanks for your reply Deborah, I don't have it to hand right now however the base is plain, without marks.

It is definitely antique, I don't know much about trench art however I strongly believe it is antique , Victorian imo. I thought maybe
gothic revival due to the lid decoration.

 

Agree, the brass has age-consistent wear. And frankly I don't see anything Asian about it.

These below seem to be the same style, both are antique and velvet-lined. The first one has pietra dura inlay on the lid and can fit three (scent?) bottles:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256731323752

And this one has enamel on the lid:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313166292803

 

Thank you, I very much appreciate you sharing.

I hope no one minds me posting on this particular forum, I don’t wish to brake any rules and I know Google lens can be wrong and I was not entirely sold myself on it being trench but it was the only inkling I had to its potential origins.

 

No problem, it has happened before. One of the Mods can move the thread to the appropriate forum.

 

Happy to be wrong. But reminded me of this type of decorative item, a vintage brass canister from Ethan Allen. Made in India.



Debora

 

Thanks for sharing Deborah. Do appreciate all information and suggestions
This looks similar certainly but I think this is a vintage copy of mine. Just my thoughts given its age and how it feels/looks in person, of course I could be wrong too.

 

Could it be a man's collar box? It is about the same size as antique glass collar boxes I've seen.

 

Thank you for your suggestion !

 

I was thinking India when I saw the photos. Apparently, India bought a LOT of surplus brass after WW2 and turned it into all sorts of things.

Trench art just has a vernacular, almost primitive look to it that this piece is missing.

 

I certainly do not think it is 'trench art'. Most trench art is fairly crude given the time and tools available, though many pieces display considerable skill and ingenuity.

This is quite typical 'trench art'...



However, this is also 'trench art', and is extremely fine. It was worked by a Turkish POW during WWI and in in the Imperial war Museum in London. This one is even inlaid!



So fine quality pieces like the piece in the original post could be done.

 

Yes think we are all in agreement it’s not trench art.

I have been away and back home now. I had a look at it again last night, it very much has a church scent inside.
Not perfume,
It’s a distinctive smell of you know what I am referring to.

Whilst its origins and intended use are not certain, I am thinking possibly this may be been used in a church.