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Original Powder Horn ??

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Captjoel

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This wonderful old powder horn has some very nice scrim details that appear to me to have been made by someone with a lot of talent. I wish it could talk! Anyone have any ideas regarding where and when it was made?
PowderHorn025.jpg
PowderHorn032.jpg
 
It certainly is interesting.
Those designs probably can point to a time and place in history for someone in the know.
Problem with antique horns is authenticating they reall are old.
Some of the artists here do a super job of recreating the old horns.
 
that sure looks good.It looks like an old horn to me.I dont know how you would tell an old horn from at artifical aged horn. I dont see enough money in facking horns to make it worth facking horns.Just looking at it I would say early 19th cent.If you needed it dated you can send it to me and I will work on getting it dated then send it back in 10 or 15 years :haha:
 
Rifleman1776 said:
Those designs probably can point to a time and place in history for someone in the know.
The designs are reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch).
 
Yeah I would say Penn Dutch.. I have a feeling it is a good peice the reason I say that is there are several designs of the same theme running around it.... most modern artists and or fakers plan a horn out and do a design with a military theme that will sell...

Now the only way to tell is to find a reputible collector or dealer to get a better idea if it is real ... I have seen 200 year old horns that fakers have doodled on trying to make a killing there was one fellow from Long Island back in the 70's 80's & 90's who got quite good at it....
 
There are a lot of fakes out there. Modern horners, like the Sibleys, can make horns that for the layman are virtually impossible to tell from the originals. Genuine, documented antique horns are quite valuable, hence the interest in faking them.

Your horn looks very good, perhaps a little too good to be an antique. You also do not mention provenance, which is very important. I suggest you contact The Honorable Company of Horners at www.hornguild.org and send more detailed photos to them for review. Nothing, of course, beats a physical examination by an expert.
 
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MacRob46 said:
There are a lot of fakes out there. Modern horners, like the Sibleys, can make horns that for the layman are virtually impossible to tell from the originals. Genuine, documented antique horns are quite valuable, hence the interest in faking them.

Your horn looks very good, perhaps a little too good to be an antique. You also do not mention provenance, which is very important. I suggest you contact The Honorable Company of Horners at www.hornguild.org and send more detailed photos to them for review. Nothing, of course, beats a physical examination by an expert.


Would someone like to try stating if this horn is an original or new? I'll reveal later.
(sorry for the orientation, Photobucket has a mind of it's own)
MarioFuscohorn.jpg
[/URL][/img]
 
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Rifleman1776 said:
MacRob46 said:
There are a lot of fakes out there. Modern horners, like the Sibleys, can make horns that for the layman are virtually impossible to tell from the originals. Genuine, documented antique horns are quite valuable, hence the interest in faking them.

Your horn looks very good, perhaps a little too good to be an antique. You also do not mention provenance, which is very important. I suggest you contact The Honorable Company of Horners at www.hornguild.org and send more detailed photos to them for review. Nothing, of course, beats a physical examination by an expert.


Would someone like to try stating if this horn is an original or new? I'll reveal later.
(sorry for the orientation, Photobucket has a mind of it's own)
MarioFuscohorn.jpg
[/URL][/img]

If you don't know whether it is antique or modern then my suggestion is the same - contact the Horners. If you are trying to trip me up then you are wasting your time because I do not claim to be an expert.
 
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Because of the clarity of the scrimshawing, I am of the opinion that it is of recent manufacture. If I were to guess an age, I'd say that it was made sometime between 1970 and yesterday.
 
Put me in the 1970 at the earliest group.
First of all, the scrim is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on an original horn. It looks like something that someone just starting out might have scratched on. While I realize that buffalo existed east of the Mississippi at one time, it was very early. Somehow a canoe and a buffalo just don’t seem to belong together.
With the already stated by previous posters disclaimer, “I’m not an expert”, I have never seen an original horn - no matter how primitive - with a simple groove near the tip to hold the strap in place. If this is old, the groove will be a first for me. It’ll force me to look at all those Mexican horn in a whole new light.
 
I'm having more fun than I anticipated with this post. :)
First, y'all have to apply your own definition of "antique" or "original" to this horn.
It was made in 1922 by my father who was 10 years old at the time. He was a boy scout. His troop took a train trip into Chicago and visited the famous cattle stock yards. He purchased the horn there for a nickle. He picked up an old nail and sharpened it on a rock. On the train ride back home he scrimed the images on it with the nail. Later he darkened the scrim with india ink and polished the horn. It has never been used for powder but has been handled. The patina is natural from age and handling. The leather thong is my addition to hang. I figure it is about nine years away from being a genuine "antique". But, in one sense, it is an original.
 
That's a very interesting story which makes this horn important to you and your family. You are fortunate to have it. But, in the context of this thread, it is not a horn with a history of use in a much earlier time. At any rate, thanks for sharing it and be sure that it is preserved.
 
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