Scrimshawed Horn dated 1601

[Elnathan]

https://leatherworkingreverend.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/william-bloody-morris-bloody-powderhorn/

Stumbled on this a couple days ago. Kind of calls into question the idea that the scrimshawed horns (as opposed to flasks) are a more-or-less uniquely American art form as I've seen argued, doesn't it? (Of course, it now occurs to me that I've seen a drawing of a Scandinavian horn that was also scrimshawed or carved...)

Lines look to have been cut pretty deeply on this one. Note also that it is done with two different colors of ink.

[JohnnyFM]

This is quite interesting.  Thank you for posting.  The tip is reinforced with a heavy, stretched leather and appears professionally done by a cordwainer.  I wonder if this was incorporated in the original design or is it a later repair?  The "strap", more like a wang or thong seems to be cut from the same leather.
A compass seems to have been used to scratch in the circles and arcs.
The author states that the butt has been glued but not nailed; I think I see indications of fastening holes in the butt area of the horn; one even looks like a countersink.
And there's that date, 1601, which can be seen within the square cartouche in the second photo.  To me, looks quite like the Pennsylvania designs from 150 years later.

[Marcruger]

Hi Elnathan,

Was it this horn you recall? 

It was a gift from the King of Iceland Christina X to my great uncle Leslie Hagen in the 1930's.  Obviously it was old at the time.  It is more carved than scrimshawed. The bird is a Gyrfalcon - national bird of iceland.  Iceland was owned by Denmark when this horn was made. 

Both ends of the horn have this elaborate floral or flame carving and stippling. 
Definitely a Scandinavian or Nordic looking horn. 
Totally different style of decoration than American horns. 
The great Art DeCamp recently completed a replacement screw-in base knob and plug as the originals were missing.  He did a super job, as you'd expect of Art. 
Best wishes,   Marc

[Rick Sheets]

Thanks for posting that link!

It does look like a Robart Mindum design. He did a number of shoe horns. I AM A HUGE FAN.

And we know that he did a least that one powder flask. Here is a reference to it in 1944.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/869033?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

[Elnathan]

Hi Elnathan,

Was it this horn you recall? 

No. I was thinking of a drawing from an old book, Dictionary of Firearms or something like that. Don't think I've ever seen that one.