Description:
Powder horn inscribed: “Robart Baird / His Horn made at leaK gorg septr 1 the 1758 / I powder with my Brother ball a Hero like / do conquer all * If you should pros ed / Leak Gorg Steel not this Horn For Fear of / Shame For on nit Is the oners Name / JW his Pene” The unidentified carver, “J.W.,” who signed horns only with his initials, must have been a trained engraver accustomed to using alternating thin and thick lines to enliven his art. At the same time, the work of “J.W.” is clearly in the delicate hand of a careful copyist inspired by the work of men like John Bush (1725-1757) and Selkrig. Books and magazines may have inspired his conventions: the crossed muskets, Oriental style ships, and detached birds and mammals. His work often lacks incised borders at the butt and throat of the horn, and wings are often attached to his letters and other motifs. Robert Baird may have come from Greenwich, Connecticut.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2005.20.21 |
