Trench Art???

[cbash83]

I got this at a antique store and have no idea what it is....Someone told me that it could possibly be trench art since it has an inscription of "JAP 1ST. DIV", but maybe some of you who know way more than I do can help me. Thanks!

 

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[NOLA_Ken]

That's an interesting piece for sure. I really have no idea what it was made for though. I thought at first it was on a grenade pin ring, but they were made of round wire not flattened like yours. It's one of those things that there have probably only ever been one of, and made for someones personal reason. It may be impossible to find out without the maker around to tell the story.

If I had to hazard a guess, and this is just a WILD guess, I'd say it could be a scrap of metal from the war that a soldier picked up maybe from a battlefield, as a sounenir and labeled then used it as a key chain later. Why he chose that scrap, what it's from, and where it came from could likely always be a mystery though.

 

[BosnMate]

It looks to me like someone labeled a war relic. I don't think your find is the relic, and think it was marking the relic and only means something to the guy that made it.

 

[nhbenz]

Would it be possible to get a closer view of what's on the back? I believe the left side is the bottom, as I can see a guy in what's now the lower left which should be rotated to be in the lower right. Beyond that I can't definitively make anything out, but it would give us a clue if we could ID or date that part, which as Ken mentioned made be out of the question, but it's all we've got really.

 

[Retired Sarge]

I concur that it was probably attached to a "War Trophy" or something that was captured and sent to the rear lines. Perfect example of a trophy would be like a rifle, helmet or something and describing what unit is was from.