The Art of the English Trade Gun in North America

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.