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Canada

Explore The Royal Family's close relationship with the region, as well as the diverse artistic traditions represented in the Royal Collection

CANADA

Powder horn

late eighteenth century

Horn | 34.5 x 7.0 cm (diameter) | RCIN 62085

Powder horns were a central part of a soldier’s equipment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They held the gunpowder for firearms. Cow or ox horns were particularly suitable because they were a convenient shape for funnelling and pouring as well as being water- and fire-resistant. When not in use, they were worn slung over the shoulder by a strap threaded through suspension holes. 

Soldiers whiling away the hours added engraved and coloured decoration to their powder horns, though sometimes this work was done by professional. Maps were a popular subject. This horn is engraved with a map of Canada and a landscape view of New York – key sites of trade and warfare in the eighteenth century. The prominent royal coat of arms on this horn suggests it may have been owned by a British officer serving in Canada or by an American before the War of Independence.


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