WW1 German POW Carved Cow Shinbone Depicting a Tulip and words – ‘habe das erfunden Bajon’ – Bayonne France

Here on offer is a fine and unusual example of a skilfully carved cow shinbone, made by a WW1 German prisoner of war (POW).

What in my opinion is interesting about this example is the carved raised lettering on the back, which is in German and reads as:

habe das erfunden Bajon

That translates into English as:

invented the bayonet

Now I have done some reserch and it appears that the inventor of the bayonet isn't definitively known, but its history is closely tied to the town of Bayonne in France, where knives were first used with guns in the 17th century. These early bayonets, or "bayonettes de Bayonne," were hunting knives adapted for use with firearms.

During WW1, Bayonne in France was not a major POW camp, but it played a role in the movement or temporary detention of prisoners, prior to them being moved to a major POW camp, especially in the early stages of the war.


Therefore, I believe this piece was carved by a WW1 German POW, whilst he was interned in a temporary camp near Bayonne.

The POW’s used what materials they had to hand and cow bones provided an excellent carving medium and they where easily obtained from the kitchens.

I believe these pieces were sold for the benefit of the internees by various POW relief organizations, such as the well known Society of Friends.

Some were obviously sold directly to the camp personnel and where personalised as such.

Each of these pieces is a unique carving and are now classed as works of art from that period, examples of which are held in the Imperial War Museum and the Manx Heritage Centre as well as various museums across France.

All the carved images and lettering are done in relief and the front depicts the image of a flowering tulip plant.

Around the base it has a carved brickwork pattern.

This example looks to have been painted with a silver/grey paint at some point and minor traces remain between the lettering and in the edges of the tulip. Inside the top rim it retains a lot of pink paint it was decorated with.

The whole carving is just in really excellent condition with no cracks or splits.

It is 8.7” (22cm) high and weighs 273g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

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Code: 51818