The origins of trench art lie in the so-called 'Prisoner of War Work', in existence from the Napoleonic wars, and probably earlier. This work is characterised by it's exquisitely intricate nature - impossibly labour-intensive, conjuring up images of months and years in captivity with little or no activity but that which you made for yourself.

In the world of antiques, anonymous pieces are often termed 'prisoner of war work' simply by virtue of the fact they would be impossibly expensive to produce on a commercial basis, and must therefore have been crafted by a captive with more time on his hands than he knew what to do with.

The rise of traditional trench art lies in the post-1914 stalemate in the trenches of the First World War, and it is this conflict with gives rise to the vast majority of available work. While some was produced in the Second World War and, indeed most subsequent conflicts, it is much more uncommon. I have an embossed shell from the Korean war in my collection and have seen a shell case brought back from the Falklands with the owners Royal Marines cap badges decorating it !