[Akanthus]

Sometimes interesting what you can find in the web.A powderhorn,nothing spectacular,like hundrets others on the market.Around 22 cm long,made from horn, stag horn and wood.It seems to be loved and often used by his owner,because the condition is not the best .After the second glimps on the engravings it becomes interesting.On one side there is a lying hind and a stag, scratching his ear with his leg.Both are shown in in a landscape and it looks, as if they were taken from a Disney movie, seomehow looking funny.Similar engravings you can find on riflestocks and huntingsword blades in the middle of the 18.Century.On the other side of the powderhorn it becomes dramatically.Under a latin inscription you can see a creature , half human half stag,which is heavily attacked from 3 dogs.Two of them are already biting into the creatures ears.If you know,that the antique greece ans roman mythologie plays a significant role in the european culture of the 18.Century, you can assume,that the creature is Actaeon.Diana transforms him into a stag after he had observed she and her nymphs taking a bath in a spring.His hunting dogs did not recognized him anymore and killed him.The inscription " Acta on ego sum, Dominum cognoscite ves Trium " i would translate very free to " I am hunted,you wii know the master of the three " Certainly somebody else can translate it better. The great craftsmanship of the engravings is fascinating.A lot of art and hunting history on a rather simple object.