Item number: X49

Year: AD 1914-1918

Material: Brass

Size: 66.4 x 55 x 22.3 mm

Weight: 39.89 g

Provenance: Private Collector, USA, 2025

This is a German First World War petrol lighter made of brass, incorporating the central medallion from a German Army belt buckle bearing the motto “GOTT MIT UNS”. The lighter is of rounded, flask-like form with a screw cap and suspension loop to the top. The body has a dark, aged patina consistent with use. Mounted centrally to one side is the applied circular badge taken from a standard imperial buckle. The badge displays an imperial crown above a laurel wreath and the inscription “GOTT MIT UNS” in raised lettering. The reverse is plain and similarly patinated. The construction and adaptation suggest manufacture from an original military fitting. The striker assembly, including the flint wheel and associated mechanism, is now missing, and the lighter is therefore incomplete.

The phrase “Gott mit uns” is German for “God with us”. Its origin lies in the Bible, specifically Isaiah 7:14, in which the name Immanuel translates as “God with us”. From Late Antiquity onwards, Christian rulers associated military success with divine favour. In the Christianised Roman Empire of the fourth century, victories were increasingly presented as evidence of God’s support. The later Byzantine Empire likewise used Christian invocations on standards and coinage to express reliance on divine protection.

Throughout medieval and early modern Europe, rulers adopted similar religious inscriptions. Latin forms such as “Deus nobiscum” carried the same meaning. Imperial Russia employed the comparable expression “С нами Бог” (“God is with us”), reflecting the same biblical tradition within Orthodox Christianity. The specific wording “Gott mit uns” became closely associated with the Kingdom of Prussia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was formally adopted as a royal and military motto in the early eighteenth century and retained after German unification in 1871 under the German Empire. During the First World War, most German Army enlisted men wore belt buckles bearing the imperial crown within a laurel wreath and the inscription “GOTT MIT UNS”.

This lighter appears to have been produced by removing the central disc from such a buckle and mounting it onto a brass lighter body. The materials, finish and method of adaptation are consistent with trench art. The term trench art refers to objects made by soldiers or prisoners of war from military equipment, scrap metal, or battlefield debris. During the First World War, items were commonly fashioned from shell cases, bullets, and uniform fittings. These objects were made at the front, behind the lines, or after the war as souvenirs and mementoes.

Smoking played a significant role in the daily life of soldiers during the First World War. Tobacco was widely issued in rations and sent from home, and it was regarded as a comfort in the conditions of trench warfare. Petrol lighters became increasingly practical compared with matches, particularly in wet and windy environments. A lighter such as this combined utility with imperial and religious symbolism.

As an object, this lighter reflects the material culture of the German officer class during the Great War, the importance of religious and imperial motifs in military identity, and the wider phenomenon of trench art as a response to industrialised warfare. It survives as both a functional personal item and a small-scale expression of loyalty and belief within the context of the First World War.

物件編號: X49

年代: 公元 1914-1918 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 66.4 x 55 x 22.3 mm

重量: 39.89 g

來源: 美國私人收藏 2025

這是一件德國第一次世界大戰時期的黃銅煤油打火機，嵌有德國陸軍皮帶扣中央飾章，其上刻有「GOTT MIT UNS」銘文。打火機呈圓潤近似扁瓶狀造型，頂部設有旋蓋及懸掛環。器身表面帶有深色歲月包漿，與實際使用痕跡相符。一側中央鑲嵌一枚取自標準帝國皮帶扣的圓形徽章。徽章上方為帝國皇冠，下環以月桂花環，並以浮雕字樣刻有「GOTT MIT UNS」。背面素面處理，同樣呈現自然氧化色澤。其製作方式與改裝痕跡顯示，此器應由原軍用配件改製而成。擊發裝置，包括燧石輪及相關機構現已缺失，因此此打火機屬於不完整狀態。

「Gott mit uns」為德語，意為「上帝與我們同在」。其思想源自《聖經》，特別是《以賽亞書》7章14節，其中「以馬內利」之名直譯即為「上帝與我們同在」。自古典晚期以來，基督教統治者常將軍事勝利視為獲得神聖庇佑的象徵。四世紀基督教化後的羅馬帝國日益將戰爭勝利與上帝的支持聯繫在一起。其後的拜占庭帝國亦在軍旗、錢幣與官方圖像上使用基督教祈語，以表達對神聖保護的依賴。

在中世紀與近代早期的歐洲，各國君主亦採用類似的宗教銘文。拉丁文形式如「Deus nobiscum」同樣意為「上帝與我們同在」。俄羅斯帝國則使用相近的教會斯拉夫語與俄語表述「С нами Бог」（意為「上帝與我們同在」），反映出相同的聖經傳統與東正教軍事象徵。德語表述「Gott mit uns」自十七、十八世紀起與普魯士王國密切相關，並於十八世紀初正式成為王室與軍事格言。1871年德意志帝國統一後，此銘文仍被沿用。第一次世界大戰期間，多數德國陸軍士兵所佩戴的皮帶扣上，均飾有帝國皇冠、月桂花環與「GOTT MIT UNS」銘文。

此打火機應為將該類皮帶扣中央圓章拆下後，鑲嵌於黃銅打火機器身而製成。其材質、表面處理及改裝方式均符合「戰壕藝術」（trench art）的特徵。所謂戰壕藝術，是指士兵或戰俘利用軍用裝備、廢棄金屬或戰場遺物所製作的物品。第一次世界大戰期間，常見以砲彈殼、子彈及軍服配件改製各類實用或紀念性物品。這類物件可在前線、後方，或戰後製作，作為紀念與留念之用。

吸煙在第一次世界大戰士兵的日常生活中佔有重要地位。菸草廣泛納入軍需配給，亦常由家鄉寄送至前線，被視為戰壕環境中重要的慰藉品。相較於火柴，煤油打火機在潮濕與多風環境下更為實用。此類打火機兼具實用功能與帝國及宗教象徵意涵。

作為一件器物，此打火機反映了第一次世界大戰期間德國軍官階層的物質文化、宗教與帝國象徵在軍事身份中的重要性，以及戰壕藝術作為對工業化戰爭回應的現象。它既是一件實用的個人物品，亦是忠誠與信仰在戰時背景下的具體體現。