TRIO A M PIS BRUXELLES BELGIUM VNT BRASS ANTI-FASCIST ASHTRAY/BOT STOPPER/OPENER

Description

RARE
EARLY
to
MID 20TH CENTURY
E
U
ROPEAN
TRIO
of
A MANNEKIN PIS,
BRUXELLES,
BEL
GI
UM
WWII ERA, VINTAGE
ANTI-FASCIST
TRENCH ART
of
BOY PEEING
on
GERMAN
N
A
Z
I
SWASTIKA SYMBOL BRASS FIGURATIVE ASHTRAY,
with
BRASS PEEING
BOY WINE BOTTLE CORKED STOPPER
&
BRASS PEEING BOY BEER
BOTTLE OPENER,
with
ORIGINAL, NATURALLY AGED BRASS PATINA
[All 3 pieces found together in an old trunk in an estate on the
New Hampshire
Atlantic seacoast]
(Circa 1936-1945)
Early to mid 20th century
WWII era
vintage anti-fascist,
anti-
N
a
z
i
E
u
ropean
decorative items, showing disdain for
Ge
r
m
a
n
military aggression & repressive
N
a
z
i
, fascist ideology
DIMENSIONS:
Ashtray:
3 1⁄4" Width x 2 1⁄2" Height x 3" Depth
Corked wine bottle stopper:
4" Height x 1" Width x 1" Depth
Beer bottle opener:
4
1⁄4" Height x 1
1⁄2" Width x
3
1⁄4" Depth
Weight:
11 oz.
DESCRIPTION:
Found together as a set of three in the same estate in
southern New Hampshire
and most likely taken back from the
WWII
E
u
ropean
theater of war by a returning
Ame
ri
can
soldier, at the war's end. These pieces are
NOT
celebrations of
Ge
r
m
a
n
fascism
or decorative objects that support or otherwise laud the
N
a
z
i
s
or
Ge
r
m
a
n
fascism
but rather were examples of vintage
early to mid-20th century
Be
lg
ian
brass trench art,
made from recycled brass artillery shell casings that were literally littered over the entirety of
E
u
rope
and on the
WWII battlefields
of
Bel
gi
um
and
Fr
an
ce.
The most important of the three pieces is the brass ashtray, which is quite a powerful little
anti-fascist piece,
with the recognizable
'peeing boy,'
by
Be
lg
ian
artist and sculptor
A. Mannekin Pis
of
Bruxelles,
Bel
gi
um
,
mounted on the side of an ashtray, seen standing on the ashtray's edge looking down and peeing directly on a
N
a
z
i
Swastika
fascist symbol
in the basin of the ashtray. This demonstrated the utter disdain and open hatred most
Be
lg
ians
felt for their once
N
a
z
i
occupiers
and unsympathetic,
brutal fascist enemy.
The other two similar brass pieces are a figurative brass corked wine bottle opener and a figurative brass beer bottle opener, both featuring the same iconography of the
'peeing boy.'
All were found together in a shoebox wrapped in cloth in the same estate. The grandfather who has since passed away some years before and who once lived in the home, was a
U
S
Army
veteran of
WWII.
Really nice and unusual to find as a set of three thematically associated separate pieces. Wonderful.
CONDITION:
Good to Very Good overall vintage condition.