The bottom of the shell case shows that it was a German artillery shell made in the May of 1917.

The shell would have been fired whilst engaging the enemy. Afterwards, the discarded shell case would have been picked up by a soldier who would have etched on the pattern, hoping they would be able to bring it home with them to show to their loved ones after the war. 

The trenches could also be very boring during WWI. There were stretches of time where the soldiers were left to guard the trenches and were left to sit in poor conditions, taking cover and hoping not to get hit by artillery or killed by a sniper. When the soldiers were not occupied by any action or battle engagement, they often found ways to pass the time so that they could try to forget about the tensions of hostile snipers, enemy bombardment, trench raids, filthy trench conditions or simply boredom. One such example of passing the time would have been trench art.

This wonderful piece of trench art is in good condition, but it has some scratching due to age and use and also a few dents and rusting. It also has wear and tear due to the age - it is now around 107 years old. It is a superb collectable piece of German WW1 militaria that would be a perfect addition to any Great War collection and would also make great war-themed decoration in the home, perhaps as a vase.