Engraved snuff box made from horn

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c. 1918

Overview

Oval snuff box with hinged lid, made from hollowed out horn and decorated with engravings.
On the lid, a cast brass Australian Rising Sun badge with a King's Crown has been attached to a rectangular piece of wood on the under surface.
Around the lid on either side are depictions of leaves, and above the lid is a cross inside a circle which resembles that of the Medical Corps or Red Cross.
On the underside of the box, there are engravings of a rising sun at either end. At the top, there are the initials 'ACMF' (Australian Commonwealth Military Forces) as appear on the rising sun badge, with the dates '1914' and '1918' either side of them.
In the centre, inside a rectangular border are the names of four battles or campaigns in which Australian forces participated during the first two years of World War One - 'Gallipoli + Fromelles + Pozieres + Mouquet Farm'.

Historical information

Although there is no name on this snuff box, it seems reasonable to assume it was purchased and decorated by an Australian soldier serving during World War One.
It could be described as trench art as it has been personalised from the standard, undecorated snuff box by the addition of military inscriptions and motifs.
He has engraved the names of batlles and campaigns in which Australians featured prominently, both in Turkey and on the Western Front.
Although the four battles mentioned date to between April 1914 and September 1916, he has put the entire range of the war, 1914-1918 at the top, indicating it was made towards the end of the war or even later.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00173

Item type

Themes

Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Material

Animal Material