On View
Military History Gallery
Exhibition
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
Created by
Unidentified
Date
18th century; engraved after 1861
Medium
horn and wood
Dimensions
L x diameter x weight: 10 1/2 × 3 1/16 in., 152Grams (26.7 cm, 0.2 kg)
Description
A powder horn with scrimshaw decorations. The powder horn shaft is made from cow horn. On one side of the horn's base, there is an engraved illustration of a seated African American officer smoking a cigar inside a tent, guarded by a white soldier in a tattered uniform. The text underneath the image reads: [Negro officer / & / White Soldier]. On the reverse side of the powder horn is an engraving of an African American man dancing with a white woman. The African American man is wearing trousers but no shirt, and the woman is wearing a long-sleeved dress with her long hair pulled back into a bun. The text above the image reads: [New England Ladies / teaching Negroes]. These images are surrounded by decorative, architectural borders. Most engraved areas appear to have been colored with an iron-based substance, possibly iron gall ink, and the surface of the horn appears yellow, whether by age or artificial coloration. The circumference of the base has jagged edges, with some remaining peg holes through which pegs or nails would have been placed to secure the base, although none remain. A replacement circular wooden butt plug is glued into the base. The narrow end of the powder horn is carved, turned, and colored dark brown. Originally it would have been closed with a peg or stopper, now missing.
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Weapons and Ammunition
Type
powder horns
Topic
American South
Education
Emancipation
Folklife
Military
Ornamentation
Race relations
U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Marion T. Lane, Ed.D.
Object number
2015.247.3
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5b043b5f0-41dd-4192-be1a-bf7343d6f2dc

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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