scrimshawed powder horn on Ebay

[Randy Hedden]

Interesting powder horn on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ENGLISH-POWDERHORN-Revolutionary-War-1766-POWDER-HORN_W0QQitemZ350269128537QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Hunting?hash=item518daabf59

This horn has the same exact Royal Coat of Arms and hunter and dog as the Pointed Tree Carver horn that is on pages 110-111 in Dresslar's powder horn book.  Interesting!  It is not an auction, but is a "Buy It Now" for $5,750.00.  Even at that I would bet it won't last long.

Randy Hedden

[Longshot]

....'Even at that I would bet it won't last long.'

Right about that!
Great images, bold execution......absolutely first rate work.

[Randy Hedden]

....'Even at that I would bet it won't last long.'

Right about that!
Great images, bold execution......absolutely first rate work.

I haven't made up my mind if this horn is a great original or if it is a really clever fake.  It sure looks good to me. Like I said, it looks like the work of the Pointed Tree Carver, but I don't see any "pointed Trees".  Even at the high asking price I suspect that someone will purchase it original or fake.

Randy Hedden

[Tanselman]

Randy, I'm with you on this one. It has a lot of authentic looking "lifted" or "raised" edges on the carving cuts, particularly in the lion's mane, and elsewhere, that really look good, as does the mottled staining and areas of damage and nicks/dings. It's a great looking horn. My one concern is the horn's lettering. I'm not fully comfortable with the shaping and filling in, or lack thereof, of a good portion of the lettering.  

At the price these horns bring today, particularly when sold on the internet where the horn cannot be personally inspected, handled and/or examined with a 10x loop, I think it's always a good idea to take a conservative approach and assume the worst, and then through close scrutiny, prove to yourself that the horn appears ALL original. In this case it might require good comparisons with similar published horns, with particular attention to the lettering, but reasonable attention to the rest of the horn as well. This seller seems to be a pretty good one, offering a 3 day return period, and he/she has a great track record in prior sales and % of positive feedback, so risk is a lot less than with those "no return" internet sales.  Shelby Gallien

[Brian]

It's a heck of a good looking horn.  Sure would be nice if it was for real.

[Lee]

Hey guys! I'll go out on a limb and say it's real.  I've handled a number of the Pointy Tree Carver's original horns over the years and have made numerous knock offs of his work from originals.  I don't see the red flags you guys are seeing.  The engraved lettering is dead right - because his lettering was pretty small, he usually only made one interior cut for a shade line.  The rampant lion, with his round eyes, shaggy mane, and mouth are dead right.  The unicorn looks good as well.  The plant coming out of a pot is a motif he used regularly. The leafs can be found on other horns he carved. The hunter shooting, with puffs of smoke coming from the end of the barrel and touch hole, is correct. The dog chasing a deer is right. Actually this whole hunt scene doesn't get any better on any of his horns. As a matter of fact it's something of a trade mark motif for the carver when there are no pointy trees to be found on his horns. The date of the horn falls within the known time period of his work (about 1750 to 1780). The patina on the horn looks dead right for the period. He was also known to use orange/amber shellac to finish his horns - might find some residue on this horn. John duMont, in his book American Engraved Powder Horns, believes the name of the Pointy Tree carver is Samuel More, from Poughkeepsie, NY (plate 68, p.52), but doesn't give a source for his attribution. 

All in all, after downloading and enlarging the pictures for a better look, and short of handling the horn myself, I'd say it looks dead nuts right.
Lee