Carved horn, possibly unfinished powder horn or hunting horn. N.p., ca. mid-19th c. Approx. 17 1/4 in.

The long horn is overall engraved with an odd conglomeration of romantic, military, and nautical imagery. One side depicts the profile bust of a soldier or sailor in stock tie and bicorne with the words “Darby / Joan” (a reference to the proverbial contented spouses), a table with a wine bottle and glass with the phrase “Soldiers Delight,” a ship at sea surmounted by laurels, a mermaid, and a hippocampus, while the other is etched with a crowned rose, a pair of kissing doves under a laurel, a collection of four figures of various sizes including a uniformed soldier and a woman holding a flower, and the words “Jos. Fletcher”. The base of the horn is unplugged and does not exhibit signs of a base plug having ever been pinned to it.

While the horn is undated, the men in uniform, particularly the full-bodied soldier clad in a shako, white shoulder belt and epaulettes, indicate a production circa the Mexican-American War. The chevrons to the soldier’s sleeve are pointed downwards, suggesting that this may have either been carved after the regulatory changes to non-commissioned officers’ uniforms in 1851 or that the man portrayed is a dragoon, who were known to wear their chevrons in this fashion. The significance of the “84” to his belt plate is unknown.

[Colonial America, 13 Colonies, Thirteen Colonies] [American Revolutionary War, American Revolution] [Relics, Militaria] [Accouterment, Equipment, Uniforms] [Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Scrimshaw]

Bored holes + repaired hole