One of the keystone offerings of
this year’s CLF fundraising auction is the collective creation of eight CLA
member artists. Christened the Saga of
the Longknife by its creators, this piece constitutes a stunning, mixed
media sculptural set composed of superbly executed, functional art.
The entire set is created around a
folk-art carving by artist Matt Fennewald, who used a mix of woods – including
pecan, walnut, and cherry – to assemble the body of the sculpture, which is scaled
to the size of a young frontiersman. Affectionately nicknamed “Wilbur” by his
creator, the carving was given a hand-rubbed finish of wax, tar, and shellac.
The rifle
which accompanies the Saga of the
Longknife set was created by gunsmith Josh Wrightsman. Although this rifle
is loosely based on original Virginia guns, Wrightsman imparted the finished
piece with his own artistic sensibilities. Built around a .40 caliber, 34"
Rice B-weight barrel, this rifle is stocked in walnut and fitted with a Chambers
Queen Anne lock. The iron furniture was entirely hand-forged, and beautifully
contrasts the richly-finished walnut stock. For a gun builder, Wrightsman was
tasked with a difficult balancing act. “The most difficult part about this
gun,” he explains, “was that it needed to be a certain size”: small enough to
fit a 6-year-old, but simultaneously suitable for a grown man. “I wanted a
gun,” says Wrightsman, “that the new owner would want to use every time they
went shooting.”
Todd Daggett created the Saga knife, hand forging the blade from
an antique buckboard seat spring. The antler handle sports a cast pewter
bolster. For optimum strength, the tang is peened over an iron washer as well
as pinned. The knife is accompanied with a sturdy sheath crafted from buff hide
scraps, hand-stitched with whitetail sinew, and the tip is decorated with
antique brass tacks.
Simeon England hand forged the
hammer-polled tomahawk based on original eighteenth century examples. “It
displays whiting and polishing of a gunsmith or whitesmith,” explains England,
and carries file work and facets reflective of original colonial examples. The
head of the tomahawk was hand forged out of mild steel, and features a
forge-welded, high-carbon steel bit. The handle is made from beautifully patterned
curly ash, stained with nitric acid.
Eric Ewing assembled an exceptional
shot pouch using a wide array of materials. The bag and strap is made from a
mix of skins including bark-tanned groundhog, alum-tanned groundhog,
brain-tanned deer, and vegetable-tanned cowhide. Ewing utilized his own
homemade concoctions to give this piece a well-aged patina.
“Wilbur’s” powder horn was created
by Tad Frei, who describes the piece as a “fancy common man's horn.” Crafted
from a small cow horn, Frei’s piece features charming folk art scrimshaw that
“reflects a bit more aesthetic concern than we typically see on utilitarian
accoutrements” Fitted with a pine base plug and a tapered spout, Frei’s
diminutive horn is appropriately scaled to the Saga set but remains fully functional.
The carving is dressed in
period-appropriate garb also crafted by Matt Fennewald. “Wilbur” is dressed in
a wool blanket coat, rawhide leggings, and brain-tanned garters. His footwear
consists of a set of pucker toe moccasins made by Alec Fourman, who utilized
brain-tanned, smoked, and aged deerskin.
The entire Saga set is topped off by a quintessential broad-brimmed
frontiersman’s hat by Michael Agee. The hat is round blocked fur felt. Agee custom made
the lathe-turned block, which, he explains, “was done to nearly all hats prior
to 1820.” Agee added splash of color with a hat band, which was made from red
wool stroud. The hat’s inner lining is made of hand stitched linen, which was then
stamped with a period style maker's mark.
For more information on the work of the artists, contact
them directly at:
Copy and photos supplied by the CLF.
