The small bag-shaped iron flask features an oval section on each side displaying a disgorging mask and gold scrollwork, and the remainder is chiseled with entwining scrollwork with gilt backgrounds. The spout screws off for refilling the flask and features silver interlacing scroll designs. The clamshell desktop case is blued iron and features silver and gold damascening including a river-side scene three nude figures, one winged and one sleeping. The balance of the designs are gold and silver borders and interlacing foliate scroll patterns, and the interior also features silver scrollwork and is closely fit to the flask which is secured via a collar and a sliding catch. The underside of the case is inscribed "ZULOAGA ANO 1854". Eusebio Zuloaga Gonzalez (1808-1898) was one of the finest metal workers in Spain's long history of artistic metalwork, arguably the very finest, and this incredible powder horn and its ornate clamshell case are certainly emblematic of his talents. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes him as "gunmaker to the Spanish monarchs, keeper of the Royal Armory in Madrid, and the most famous Spanish metalworker of the mid-nineteenth century." He and his family have been credited with preserving the art of Spanish damascening and trace their long lineage as arms makers to the 17th century. He was born in Madrid and studied under his uncle Ramon Zuloaga in 1822-1827 at Placencia de las Armas and then worked under his father, Blas Zuloaga (1782-1856), who was the armorer to the Spanish Royal Bodyguard and honorary chief armorer of the Spanish Royal Armory of Madrid (Real Armeria de Madrid). He received the title of royal gunmaker to Queen Isabella II in 1844 and was charged with refurbishing the arms and armor of the armory between 1847 and 1849 which would have included studying and repairing the intricate damascening on some of the items prior to the reopening of the armory in 1849 and would have provided plenty of inspiration for the intricate patterns and classical figures seen on this set. He won a silver medal at the Exhibition of Spanish Industry in Madrid in 1845 and presented his workshop's impressive artistic arms and wares at the most important international exhibitions in the mid-19th century, including The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in London in 1851 where he won an award and Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris where he received a medal of honor. A similarly decorated flask with a pair of pistols and mold by Zuloaga displayed at the Great Exhibition can be seen in Plate 8 in "The Industrial Arts of the 19th Century" by M. Digby Wyatt who notes, "In the production of the specimens of Spanish fire-arms we have engraved, M. Zuloaga evinces consummate skill, and we can imagine, to a military man, no more splendid offering than was made when 'the Captain General of Puerto Ricco, the Count Mirasol, the General Don Celestino Ruiz de la Bastida, the Peninsular regiments of Catalonia, Iberia, and the Asturias, and the regular Militia of the year 1846,' offered the princely gift of this rich collection of arms to the Duke of Valencia, captain-general of the Spanish army." See James Lavin's "The Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas: Spanish Damascene from the Khalili Collection" for more information. Provenance: Private Collection in Spain; Property of a Gentleman

Very fine with nearly all of the gold and silver remaining, 75% plus original blue finish with some age related fading, and minor overall age and storage related wear.