A seventeenth-century ivory Indian Moghul gunpowder horn in the shape of a fish-like composite animal carved in relief. The horn’s form is a visual exploration of Indian wildlife: we see a crocodile swallowing an antelope foal, a lioness attacking a ram, birds on the wing, two elephants, a hare, and two mythical dragons. There are nineteen animals in total, some of which form a morphological whole.
Powder horns of this type were used to hold the gunpowder used to ignite the flash pan of a musket. Once ignited, the powder detonated the charge, causing the musket to fire. The powder for the main charge was carried in a powder flask, while smaller containers such as this held the priming powder. This particular horn consists of an ivory container and an ivory lid. When filled with powder, the two pieces were held together by pins. A metal handle is affixed to the top of the horn: when pressed, it opens a hole at the tip of the lid that allowed the powder to be poured into the musket. The metal ring in the middle of the handle served to attach the horn to a strap or sash.
This horn is one of a group of powder horns of similar appearance and high quality, likely produced by a small number of workshops in 17th-century Moghul India. These powder horns depict animal scenes appropriate to objects associated with armed battle and hunting expeditions. They represent a distinctive group of Moghul ivory carvings that favour naturalism over stylisation, and were inspired by the miniature paintings and fantastical creatures that were a popular subject in the imperial Mughal workshops.
Other examples can be found in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Joseph M. Dye II, The Arts of India, Virginia, 2001, pp. 424-35, no. 200; the Nasser D Khalili Collection, London (David Alexander, The Arts of War: Arms and Armor of the 7th to 19th Centuries, Londen, 1992, no. 115); the Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection (Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight. The Furusiyya Art Foundation, Milan, 2007, pp. 286-89, nos. 279-82; Musee Guimet, Paris (George Michel, The Majesty of Mughal Decoration. The Art and Architecture of Islamic India, London, 2007, p. 257, no. 73); and the David Collection, Copenhagen (Kjeld von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen, 2001, p. 258, no. 414).
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