The Art of the English Trade Gun in North America

Nathan E. Bender (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

179 Seiten

2018
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-7115-7 (ISBN)

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Designing symbolic meaning into ornamentation is a long-standing Western artistic tradition, a practice deeply rooted in classical Greek and Roman art. This volume directly addresses the question of why particular ornamental patterns of known symbolic significance were chosen by eighteenth century English gunmakers for Native American trade guns.

Designing symbolic meaning into ornamentation is a long-standing Western artistic tradition, a practice deeply rooted in classical Greek and Roman art. The author directly addresses the question of why particular ornamental patterns of known symbolic significance were chosen by eighteenth century English gunmakers for Native American trade guns. The dynamic, multi-level allegorical symbolism is nothing less than astonishing. The origin of Native Americans as noble savages and as symbols of liberty are argued to be ideas firmly rooted in European classical mythology. Closely related is the development of national symbols of liberty within the American Revolution. A single overarching European allegorical framework is shown to provide a common symbolism of English trade guns, early images of American Indians, and the identity of the early American republic. Ornamentation of firearms gifted and traded to American Indians documents the use of these symbols. By drawing upon deep mythologies of Europe, English gun designers also inadvertently incorporated artwork having deep spiritual significance to many American Indians, helping to account for the long uninterrupted use of the ornamentations.

Nathan Bender is a librarian/archivist in Laramie, Wyoming, and an independent research folklorist. He has published on western folklore and history, historic archaeology and material culture, and Native American studies in academic and scholarly books and journals.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: Designing Beauty for a New World

1. Light Fusils for the Iroquois

2. Broad Arrow and Sitting Fox

3. St. George and the Dragon

4. Chief’s Gun Patterns and Ornamentation

5. Arrows of Artemis

6. Diana and the Dragon

7. America and the Noble Savage

8. American Liberty

9. Respect for Arrows

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	01.08.2018
Zusatzinfo	98 photographs
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	250 g
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Antiquitäten
	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Kunstgeschichte / Kunststile
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Sammeln / Sammlerkataloge
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-7864-7115-8 / 0786471158
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-7115-7 / 9780786471157
Zustand	Neuware