Powder flask. Engraved shaft, rope, cork. Spain, 19th century. A powder magazine made from a cow horn and decorated on the outside with a series of figurative, geometric, and vegetal engravings and inscriptions highlighted with dark or black ink or dye. The decoration is arranged in horizontal bands, with some elements highlighted by "frames" of crossed lines. Latin crosses, floral elements, a coiled snake, several human figures (note especially the male figures at the top, with firearms), quadrupeds, birds, fish, and inscriptions in capital letters (names such as Manuel, intertwined initials, etc.) are clearly visible. Also known as "cuernas" (horns), these types of vessels were usually made not by skilled and specialized workers, but by shepherds, cattle herders, and others, who decorated them with their own names, elements important to their region or to themselves, or motifs with a long tradition in a particular area. Compare this to the one by Pedro Doncel, dated 1855 and kept in the Olivenza Museum (Spain), or the one from 1883 in the Costume Museum of Madrid (Spain).
· Size: 27x8x7 cms.
ANTIQUES
MISCELLANEUS;OTHER OBJECTS
Ref.: ZF1286