Pair of fluted wooden columns, one surmounted by a gilded brass eagle (crown missing) of the type appearing on the full-dress helmets of the Kaiser Wilhelm II Corps Guards, the other by the imperial eagle in cut brass surmounted by the imperial crown, all in a medallion below which hang 2 shields in the colours of the Kingdom of Prussia. H: 50 and 53 cm. BE These two decorative elements come from Adolphe Messimy (1869-1935), a career soldier, dreyfusard, member of parliament for the Seine and then the Ain, senator for the Ain and minister for war and the colonies between 1911 and 1914. He initiated attempts to reform the French army's uniform before 1914.