Illustrated as the first horn in Jim Dresslar's, this horn is "Certifiably Native" with this provenance, “The horn was taken from Paugus' body by John Chamberlain of Groton, Massachusetts, at the Battle of Lovewell's Pond in what is now Maine on May 8, 1725”.
John Proud has crafted a documented copy of an engraved horn collected early in the 18th century. Pictured on pages 2 and 3 of Jim Dresslar’s book The Engraved Powder Horn the Chief Paugus horn is regarded as one of the earliest engraved American horns, and was captured on May 8, 1725, at the battle of “Lovewell’s Pond” Maine, when the original was taken from the chief’s body by John Chamberlain of Groton, Massachusetts.
To copy the original, John first chose a raw horn that matched the original in both shape and size.He then built and carved it as much like the Chief Paugus horn as he could in every detail. The horn is fully engraved prominently displaying two crowned heads, one with a heart in the middle of the breast, birds, a doe deer, a string of wampum along one side, flowers and vines, a beaver and - Chief Paugus' tribal symbol, a turtle.
The actual carving on the original seems to be done by as many as three different hands, so to match it, John also altered his own carving style. Determining how to carve the portions of the original horn not illustrated was also another challenge, but John blended these sections with what is seen with similar carvings. This horn especially illustrates just how early that Europeans and Native Americans began to exchange and even merge key elements of their cultures.
The CLA Live Auction will be on Friday, August 20th at 4:00 PM.
Copy by T.C. Albert with photos by Bob Webb.
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