Weird Powder Horn

[Cosmoline]

I found this odd little horn with crude etchings with assorted Inuit and Yupik handicrafts at the local antique barn. It looks to me like something turned out to sell to tourists, and since the inside still had horn shavings in it I don't think it was ever used. The strap feels to me like moose. The horn has a bit of a yellow patina and underneath a considerable number of scrapes and scratches. These scratches are over the top of the etchings, at random angles and are covered by the patina. Therefore someone etched and did something with it sufficient to make the scratches. It then aged at least long enough to yellow up. How long that takes I don't know. I'm posting some pics here to see if anything looks familiar. The GIANT OCTOPUS is a new one to me LOL. That and the whaling scene look like something you'd see on scrimshaw ivory, not a powder horn. To me personally, if you've run into an OCTOPUS big enough to warrant a wiff of roundball, the time has come to stop fishing for the day. Anyway any thoughts or opinions on this are welcomed. I just thought it looked strange enough to buy.

 

[4v50 Gary]

That spout is awfully large. Interesting art and I think you're right in that it's new. Look at the lines near the muzzle. They look fresh.

 

[Cosmoline]

I suspect it may have been made sometime during or after the war, long enough ago to get some yellow. That time frame would have been about right to sell to some GI or federal employee since they were flooding the backwaters of the state. I doubt it's more recent, but the only way I could see it being a real native object not-for-sale to the tourists is if it had some ritual significance. I have seen shaman "rifles" made from wood with spirit faces at the barrel end. But the chances of that are slim. Anyway it didn't cost much, and I could not turn down a Cthulhu horn.

 

[scrat]

either way looks pretty cool nice wall hanger if anything

 

[jwr747]

depending on the age,some of them things are worth BIG $$$$$$. jwr

 

[Coyote Hunter]

What you have found is the long lost Jonah's powder horn. That's why he couldn't shoot the whale that swallowed him, he had no powder.

It may be worth millions,... or maybe not.

 

[Omnivore]

There are certainly techniques to "distress" the horn and stain it to look older and well-worn. It's done all the time, not just on horns, but anything. One would have to really know what to look for in order to make a determination on age. It looks like a nice piece regardless.