Portfolios > SERIES 1: RITUALS AND RELIQUARIES

This is a reliquary for a World War II 50 caliber practice / dummy shell used to train soldiers on how to handle ammunition and load guns, usually a 50 cal. machine gun. It never contained gun powder. I chose a camouflage pattern that was taken from WWII patterns used by the Marines in the South Pacific.
When I worked on this piece I thought of who might want to have saved a bullet and ultimately enshrine it. I thought about a recruit bringing it home from boot camp or a little brother making it a project in a wood shop class as a memory for his brother.

Dummy shell, Basswood strips, steel wire, copper sheet, acrylic paint.

Reliquary for 50 Cal. Shell
Rituals and Reliquaries: 50 cal. Shell
mixed on archival support
12 3/16" sq. x 3" d.
2008