Description:

BRITISH SAILOR''S CARVED SOUTH PACIFIC POWDER HORNS
A most impressive matched pair of figuratively carved powder horns, each approx. 16 1/2" long x 4 1/2" dia. at the base, each elaborately carved by a British sailor of the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries, reflecting scenes of his service in the South Pacific and his yearning for home. The first horn is decorated nearest the tip with a very finely detailed image of two ladies clad in the fashionable, elaborate dresses of the period. Beneath this is another image of a high class lady, dressed in period riding garb and mounted side-saddle on a white horse, with a caparison bearing a coat of arms beneath its saddle. Most interestingly, and in contrast to the other imagery, the etching near the base depicts a group of three canoes, each filled with a large number of South Pacific islanders with painted faces and clubs. At the rear of one canoe appear three Europeans, two men and a woman. This scene is labeled: "Landing of Missioneries [sic]". Interspersed with these scenes are a variety of floral images. The second horn similarly bears three tiers of carvings, with the first two again depicting lavishly-dressed ladies, one of whom reads a letter while another looks over her shoulder. The bottom image again depicts a scene from the South Pacific, this time a group of Maori warriors of New Zealand with painted faces and grasping spears, performing a war dance. This scene is captioned: "Maori War Dance". The female figures on both horns have had their dresses colorized with red and green dyes. Both horns are sealed with carved bone plugs at the tip, and both are fitted with metal suspension loops with modern replacement twine cords. One of these loops has pulled loose from one horn, else very good.

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May 9, 2017 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000