Thank you, Dutch Blacky, for showing this interesting horn, and for the excellent pictures. Congratulations on your acquisition!
I am not an expert, but I would say the integral carved rings are unusual. I understood from a previous post that the former owner bought the horn from an old trading post in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is a potential clue to the horn's origin.
For comparison, consider this antique buffalo (bison) powder horn in the New Mexico state museum in Santa Fe:
That image is from a magazine article by Doc Carlson, "
Muzzleloader visits the New Mexico State Museum," in the May/June 1979 issue of
Muzzleloader magazine. I see integral carved rings on the buffalo horn, also. It may be a leap of faith with a sample of only two, but I would suggest at least considering a possible southwestern origin. Most powderhorn studies seem to focus on horns from the east, and to my knowledge, there has not been a serious study done of powder horns originating in the west. Surely, some were made.
The other thing is that I have seen photos of powder horns from Mexico ("Old" Mexico) which were virtually covered with high relief carving, usually in plant or animal forms. A hornmaker of less artistic skill may have used the same principle of high relief carving, but in a simplified design, such as the rings carved on the subject horn as well as the bison horn in the New Mexico state museum.
So, my hypothesis would be a southwestern origin with possible Hispanic influence.
Regardless of where it was made, it is a lovely old horn. The lilac paint job may have come later... Some people are obsessed with painting things, especially natural objects (like deer antlers) antiques with a worn finish. Your horn is beautiful as it is, but a museum conservator might be able to suggest a way to remove the paint without damaging the underlying patina.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
