Sounds like the maker REALLY liked the double cyma curve decoration. Grin.
I was wondering if the pouch was made from scraps at a shop making military equipment, perhaps as a practice piece by an apprentice or something. That would explain why the cyma curve on the flap is the mirror of the original pattern.
Elnathan,
This type of pouch would have been a good project piece for a young apprentice due to the relatively small amount of material lost, if the apprentice really screwed up. If the apprentice made it good or even well, it would have been a good lesson and springboard of experience for the apprentice prior to moving on to more difficult or complicated projects. Actually, I think such small and less complicated projects were assigned to apprentices as a normal procedure when such orders of bespoke work were taken and a shop had apprentices to do the work.
Though I can and will not entirely rule out the double cyma curve decoration as coming from a shop that may have done contract work or made things for the military, I don’t believe we can automatically assume a military connection.
Cyma curves and even double cyma curves were the hallmark of Queen Anne through Chippendale furniture covering most of the 18th century right up to the American Revolution in the larger cities and even later than that the closer one got to the frontier. They even remained in some Federal Period furniture after the Revolution, though to a much lesser extent. So this style of decoration was well known throughout the colonies.
What I noticed was the double cyma curve decoration is not proportional in scale to the reverse double cyma curve on the bottom of the flap pouch. The curves of the decorations are not nearly as rounded (in proportion) to the bottom of the pouch flap. Personally, I would have thought such a decoration would have been proportional to the pouch flap to make it more pleasing to the eye as a smaller scale reverse mirror image.
Proportional Dividers were common tools for mapmakers, architects, draftsmen and furniture designers and cabinet makers long before and throughout the 18th century. I imagine these dividers were also used by higher end saddlers and other leather workers as well. Still, one doesn’t need proportional dividers to make proportional scale designs as it can be done with nothing more than proportional rule such as the “Golden Mean” of 1 to 2 or even trial and error with dividers.
Besides the double cyma curve decoration not being in proportion to the bottom of the pouch flap, there are a couple more “problems” with automatically associating it with a military source IMO. What is highly unusual is the double cyma curve decoration was done in three places on this pouch by what Rob has reported and the ones on the front and back look like they are exact copies. Not sure about the one under the flap that Rob reported. This suggests to me it was done from perhaps a wood pattern at least or less likely a metal pattern. One problem is with this pattern associating it with a military source is what military item would such a small pattern double cyma curve be used for? I can’t think of anything. The other problem is this size and kind of decoration is not common or even unknown for most military equipment outside the bottom of a cartridge box or pouch flap that was much larger than this pattern.
This is why I believe it was perhaps a pattern used to identify things made by the shop where this pouch was made, because cyma curves were “in fashion” during most of the 18th century in so many things. It may have been used multiple times on this pouch merely to allow the apprentice to get used to putting it on things made at that shop. However, this is nothing more than speculation on my part.
Gus
