Original WW2 German POW Trench Art Carved M31 Wehrmacht Mess Tin With Prague Castle Engraving

Original German WWII Trench Art Mess Tin extensively engraved during the immediate post-war period. The lid is engraved with the word Kriegsgefangenschaft ( Prisoner of War Captivity ), while the body carries the inscription Ksani together with the dates 1946, 1947 and 1948. Particularly striking is the finely engraved view of Prague Castle and the Prague skyline to the reverse, accompanied by decorative oak leaf motifs, an Iron Cross to the lid and further hand-worked ornamentation throughout. The quality of engraving is excellent and clearly represents many hours of careful work. The inscription Ksani is especially intriguing. Ksani is a river and region in Georgia, an area associated with the post-war detention of German prisoners by the Soviet Union. While the exact history of this piece cannot now be proven, the combination of the captivity inscription, post-war dates and geographic references strongly suggests a personal item created during post-war captivity.