Any 18th. century relief-carved powder horns?

[Little Turtle]

Does anyone know if there's any documentation for relief-carved powder horns from the F&I period?  By relief-carved, I mean as in having the spout-end carved into a figure (like an animal head, for example)?    I had a raw horn that had some very deep gouges and cracks in the tip and I figured I'd carve away at it and see how deep i had to go to get down to the undamaged part.  Well, by the time I hit solid meat it was obvious that it wasn't gonna' have a nice symmetrical tip so i just carved away at it (nothin' to loose) and I ended up roughing out a wolf's head.  Seems like it's got some potential to make an interesting folk-art type horn, but did they ever do that sort of thing or would it really just be some sort of modern day "fantasy horn"?  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Little Turtle

[rollingb]

I'm not (personally) aware of any horns that were "carved" in the manner you describe,.... but that's certainly NOT saying it was never done.  
Track of the Wolf offers a good book titled "Powder Horns and their Architecture" by Madison Grant,... that you might find interesting.

The Table of Contents includes the following:
The Squirrel Hunter
Title Page
Dedication
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Dating the Powder Horn
The Plain Eighteenth Century Powder Horn
Primitive Self Expression on the Horn
Retribution
A Turning Point
A Turning Point
A Study in Kinship
The Plain Nineteenth Century Horn
The Fabric Shoulder Strap
The Men Behind The Rifling Bench
As They Were
The Cannoneer
They Also Served
The Last Retrieve
The Paneled Powder Horn
The Horn with Bands, Either Applied or Integral
The Pocket or Priming Horn
Powder Horns on Shipboard
The Fox's Choice
The Screw Tip Powder Horn
Stain as a Decoration
The Masonic Emblem and the Horn
The Use of Brass Tacks
The Reprieved
Old Hickory
The Gunsmith's Home
The Cameo Type of Carved Decoration
A Study in Contrasts
The Double Horn
The Diamond Avalanche
Butt Plug Treatment Through Turning, Carving, or Painting
Picture Perfect
The Whimsical Touch
The Respite
Mechanical Spout Attachments
An Odd Couple
The Supply or Storage Horn
A Pair of Indian Horns
The Fur Trade and the Conquest of a Continent
The Prairie and the Shooting Stick
Some Thoughts About What Used To Be
Full Dress
The Queen Anne Style
The Hunting Horn
The Salt Horn
The Use of Geometric Designs
The Tin Container
The Powder Measure
Frizzen Sparks in the Snow
Early and Late
The Folding Spoon
Small Horn Objects
The Trail Breaker
The False Gobble
Horn and the Basic Liquid
Horn Cups
SECTION II
A Prince Among Powder Horns
Paint and the Powder Horn
Two Decades of Service
The Powder Horn as an Historical Document
The Tansel Hand
Bibliography
The Author

[Uncle Russ]

John Shorb (Bigsmoke) is, IMHO, the go-to guy when it comes to powder horns.
I love nice powder horns, but I have to say I don't know squat about them.
The project you mention is interesting, to me, but I have clue as to where it fits in the overall scheme of powder horns.
John will likely see this and chime in.

Got pictures?

Uncle Russ...

[Bigsmoke]

Russ, Well, yes and no on your claim to my knowledge base.  I am really not an expert by any means on the history of horn design of the F & I or any other period.
Personal opinion would be building the horn in the manner described would merit "Folk Art" status, no more, no less.  Not a negative opinion, just an observation.
And yes, I also would like to see a few photos of it.
John

[Little Turtle]

Wow, Thanks Rollingb for the run-down on the Grant book!  I gotta get me a copy (tho it might start me off on a whole new horn-hobby).

Russ and John, I hadn't thought to take any photos of it but if you'd like to take a look I'll shoot a couple and try to post them.  Do I just do them as file-attachments in a post?

I don't know squat about horns either ('till I get and read that book) but I like to try my hand at different stuff...

[Uncle Russ]

Little Turtle
At the bottom of your page, once you click on a post to respond, you will see Upload Attachment
Under that you will see a "Browse" button that lets you select the picture from your computer that you intend to post, click that and you will go into your own computer where you your pictures stored.
Find the picture you want to post, click on it, on the right bottom of it, and the picture will load as your "attachment" to the post you are responding to.

IMO. it always best to save the pictures you take in a jpeg format, that way there's never any muss or fuss about sharing it, because every server opens it, while anyone and everyone with a computer can also open, read, or look at this type file.

Give it whirl, you just may like the way things work.

Uncle Russ...

[Little Turtle]

Thank you Russ, lets see if I can do this photo uploading thing...

The carving is obviously just roughed-out, but I guess you guys can get an idea of what I've got started here.  Please give me an honest opinion of what you think this thing's chances are of turning into a worthwhile horn...

Thanks much,
Little Turtle

[Uncle Russ]

Opinion?
Honest opinion?
Well, IMHO, there ain't no fleas on that dog!
If that your first relief carving, and that is your first picture posting, you are well on the road to bigger and better things.

Uncle Russ...

[Bigsmoke]

Looks pretty good.  Assumption would be that the powder is dispensed through the front of the mouth?  Hopefully, you have drilled the hole already?  It is kind of difficult to tell from the photos.

[Little Turtle]

Yep, I drilled and used a tapered reamer before i started carving away at the horn.  On the right hand side of his snout you can see that there is one of the original flaws/cracks that went deep, all the way to the drilled hole.  I figured I'd have to fill this area with something to keep it from leaking.  Then, when I started to carve, I decided to cut the teeth deep enough to hit the hole too and then I'd make a tapered tube (sheet copper or sheet brass?) and insert it as a sort of spout liner.  If i did that it'd solve the crack problem and also it'd show between the teeth and maybe look kind of interesting?...  Does that sound workable?  Again, this ol' horn was kind of a total-loss to start with so I'm just experimenting and maybe, if I'm not careful, i'll learn something too  : )