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Lot 336
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WWII Allied Brass Trench Art Cane Stand - Naval & 20mm Cartridge Cases
WWII Allied Brass Trench Art Cane Stand - Naval & 20mm Cartridge Cases
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North America and Europe, Allied forces (American and British), World War II, ca. 1942–1945 CE. A tripod cane stand assembled from spent Allied brass cartridge cases, a quietly martial piece of trench art in which the materiel of the Atlantic and Mediterranean war has been refashioned into domestic furniture. The vertical body is a US Navy 3-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 Mod 1 brass cartridge case, headstamped "3-IN. 50 CAL MK 7 MOD. 1" and dated 1943, with lot markings and the maker codes "N.S." and "J.R.D." The "N.S." stamp likely corresponds to Norris Stamping and Manufacturing Co. of Los Angeles, a documented wartime Navy contractor; "J.R.D." is presumed to designate the loading or assembly facility and remains unidentified. The 3"/50 dual-purpose gun served as a standard secondary armament across US Navy and Coast Guard vessels and on the decks of armed merchantmen, where it answered both surface attack and aircraft overhead.

Three smaller 20mm autocannon cases, each dated 1942, splay outward to form the legs, soldered to the body at sharp angles that lend the stand its taut, almost insectile stance. Two are British 20mm Hispano-Suiza (HS.404) cases of Mark II pattern, one bearing the recognized British maker code "WB" and a diamond inspector's stamp, the other worn past full legibility. The third is a 20mm Mark II case with partial markings whose Arabic-numeral format suggests possible American manufacture. Because the 20mm Mk II case was shared between the Hispano aircraft cannon and the Oerlikon naval anti-aircraft mount, the headstamps alone cannot fix the weapon that fired them, though the British examples point toward the Hispano carried by RAF fighters and night-fighters of the period. A separate brass disc caps the open mouth of the upright to provide a flat top, transforming the muzzle of war into a parlor surface for walking sticks and umbrellas.

Trench art of this kind, made by sailors, soldiers, and airmen during quiet hours or in postwar workshops, occupies a particular emotional register: the labor of converting ordnance into ornament was at once thrift, souvenir-making, and a small private act of disarmament. This stand belongs to that tradition, its components a cross-service inventory of Allied ordnance of the Atlantic and Mediterranean war. Size: 6.8" W x 24" H x 6.5" D (17.3 cm W x 61.0 cm H x 16.5 cm D).

Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015

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Item # 199295

  • Condition: Good. Primer is removed and replaced by cork. Two top rims are detachable. Stable fissure to one leg. Expected surface wear as shown with light patina throughout. Otherwise, nice overall presentation.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000