Original British WWI Pair of Painted Glass Trench Art Floats “War Relics” – Floats As Used On Anti-Submarine Mines Original Items

Original Items: Only One Pair (2) Available. Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.

Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term ‘trench art’ is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.

These are actually extremely unique and somewhat rare piece of trench art. The fact that they were most likely produced during the Pre War era for fishermen and survived well over 100 years is a feat! The glass globes are actually what are known as “Glass Floats” and were initially once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their fishing nets, as well as longlines or droplines, afloat. During WWI, the British Womens Royal Naval Service would wire these floats together to attach them to Anti-Submarine mines.

These glass floats are no longer used by fishermen, but many of them are still afloat in the world’s oceans, primarily the Pacific. They have become a popular collectors’ items for beachcombers and decorators. Replicas are now manufactured.

The globes each measure approximately 5 inches in diameter and are both on lovely brass bases that have cradles for the globes. The cradles are rather loose from years of manipulation, but they could be bent back into place to better secure them, but use caution doing so. Each globe has a lovely collage of naval scenes with the flags of all allied countries surrounding the scenes.

The paint is retained quite well with a nice aged appearance to them. This is a rather rare set of mementos and one that you may never encounter again! Comes more than ready for further research and display.