Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of an Italian Fascist Trumpet Banner, which would be hung on trumpets during ceremonial occasions. The banner is double sided, featuring a gold bullion Italian Fascist eagle on both sides. It measures 11½” long, not counting the fringe which is an extra ¾”, and 10” wide. The top has three 4½” long black tie strings for attachment to the trumpet. The banner also comes with an Italian Fascist handkerchief/scarf which features the word DUCE and several Fasces symbols on both sides.

Both sides of the banner feature the Gold Eagle, made of gilded aluminum bullion wire. Both sides are in very good condition, with very little oxidation and all the gold fringe still retained. We have had another example with this exact eagle style before, confirming this as a WWII Italian Fascist piece. The banner is in fantastic condition with no major damage to the bullion, displaying very well. The gold fringe at the bottom is in good shape minus one at the very end which is losing some of its string and fringe as shown, but this could easily be cut off so it can blend in easier.

The propaganda handkerchief is triangular as all are and measures roughly 25 x 47”. We know of specific examples made for divisions of the Blackshirts but this one just has DUCE and several Fasces symbols, so it was likely made for propaganda purposes and is in fantastic condition, just having folds from being stored. A great silk piece that could still be used today, but will display very well alongside the trumpet banner.

A Fasces is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an ax (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etruscan civilization and was passed on to ancient Rome, where it symbolized a Roman king's power to punish his subjects, and later, a magistrate's power and jurisdiction.

This is a fantastic pair of Italian Fascist items ready for further research and display.

The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza NSDAPonale (MVSN, "Voluntary Militia for National Security''), commonly called the Blackshirts (Italian: camicie nere, CCNN) or squadristi, was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party and, after 1923, an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modeled on those of the Arditi, Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Duce (leader) of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country laborers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943 the MVSN was integrated into the Italian armed forces.