Original Horn - ID

[120RIR]

A buddy of mine picked this up at an antique shop in Connecticut recently.  The base looks like pine and is attached to the horn with small square copper nails.  Interestingly, there is no indication of any kind of staple or any other feature one might expect for a strap.  Can anyone weigh in on age, possible regional origin, etc. or is it simply too generic to tell much about it?

[rich pierce]

Size?

[120RIR]

In a straight line from the tip to the center of the base is almost exactly 12 inches.

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ... not saying is a definite, but North Carolina horns are famous for tips with eight facets,......... nice horn,... regards,.... Cades Cove Fiddler...

[Elnathan]

It looks like there was a chunk of wood that split away on the base there. I wonder if there was originally a hole drilled there and a string or leather thong threaded through and knotted - not a common way of carrying a horn but I have seen arrangement like that before. The peg might have put pressure on the knot, causing the wood to split over time.

Or, maybe, the peg had the strap attached somehow.

[120RIR]

Ah...interesting theory!  That notch may very well be split out of the base or it was intentionally cut - I really can't tell which but either way I just assumed this was a filler hole instead of possibly a suspension method. Here are a few more photos.

[Tim Crosby]

 Looks like from the last set of Pix that it had a removable plug that held the strap/string/whatever. Could have been threaded, almost looks like threads on the inside. The plug was lost/broken and a new simple plug used as a replacement, fitting it may have rubbed out the threads. Or once the plug was lost the horn was not used and somewhere along the line someone just stuck a plug it to make it look right. Friction fit plugs were not unheard of, the original was probably made of a hard wood. Some Virginia horns used that method but it does not in itself make it a Va. horn but the bulbous butt adds to that. Could have been made anywhere, found in New England I would go with that for an origin. As for the Eight panels I think you can find them in any region. Not much help but sometimes it is hard to date and put a location on them.   
 Neat horn in any case.

 Tim C.

PS: When I first looked at it I thought it was Two horns pressed together. TC

[Marcruger]

Interesting shape.  It almost looks like a two-piece "horn in a horn" the way it steps down. 

Thanks for sharing. 

God Bless,   Marc

[skillman]

As to origin, very hard to be certain. As to the hole and plug, that could have been a later addition The drilling of the hole could have broken out the piece missing in the butt. That could also have obscured a small hole from a nail or screw for attachment of a strap. That said, I see no evidence of wear from a strap behind the ring on the throat.Very nice horn.

Steve

[Top Jaw]

I have seen horns in museums, books, and in person with that "shingled" throat feature, (my name for it) that were attributed to NY and New England.  So its probably from near where it was found.  Some of the ones I've seen were faceted and carved with designs in the borders of the facets.   Don't know about a date, but my gut would definitely put it in the 19th century.  And my personal guesstimation FWIW, would be 1815 to 1850.

[rich pierce]

Coloration looks late, like a Holstein horn.

[Gun_Nut_73]

Is there any chance someone tried to use a screwdriver to lever out the plug, and wound up hogging a piece out of the base?