Italian Late 19th Century Wooden Cask Canteen & Leather Shoulder Strap

Original era manufacture. Wooden construction, with a metal reinforcing band at top and bottom. Screw-in, wooden plug closure. Brown leather harness with an adjustable shoulder strap. No markings visible but surprisingly sound, leather strap is a little weak on one side where it attaches to the harness. We had originally identified this as a British canteen, while similar, it is more likely an Italian Alpine troops issue. We thank a fellow collector, Keith in the UK, for pointing this out to us. We never stop learning do we....