Moving gun powder horns at the Cultural History museum

I work with history and communication at one of Sweden's largest museums, the Cultural History Museum in Lund in southern Sweden. One of Sweden's largest? Calculated in terms of exhibition space and number of objects in the collection, it is one of the biggest, even though Kulturen is a regional museum.

In a museum, the museum's various historical objects are always being moved. As an employee, I have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and film some of the unique items and show you.

Here is a video of the items moved right now:

Gun powder horns from the 1600s and 1700s.

Right now, a weapons transfer is underway. Out of several hundred rifles, pistols, bayonets, armour, yes even a mine from the Second World War are to be moved to better premises that are climate-adapted for museum purposes.

The objects to be moved are photographed and cataloged and then packed into special boxes to preserve them for the future. Now is the chance to take pictures of the weapons before they are packed away!

The other day it was time for the museum's gun powder horns to be packed down and I was there to film this.

Powder horns were used to keep the gun powder for the rifle dry. From the beginning, hollowed-out horns from deer or cows were used, then you also got a practical spout that could be used when the gunpowder was poured into the muzzle-loaded rifle. Over time, powder horns began to be manufactured in ivory or some other exclusive material, to eventually also become mass-produced in metal.

The powder horns were often very richly decorated, and since it was the highest social class that engaged in hunting, they were expensive and fine powder horns that also showed material status, much like wearing an expensive watch today.

The museum has hundreds of powder horns like this.

Here is a video with some examples. It begins with the powder horn that Karl XII's soldiers during the Great Nordic War had in the field between 1700 and 1718. Interesting to see that they used the kings name as a “brand” for the army not a national flag. It was the king you were loyal to, the king who also participated in the fighting.

Here is the video!

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