Weeping Heart?

cerulean

cerulean

Joined
May 26, 1999
Messages
1,964
Hey, this forum is great! I've already learned a ton here. :)

I was just wondering: What's the weeping heart that you sometimes see on tomahawks for? I'd guess that one of it's purposes is to reduce weight, but does it have any other uses? Does the heart shape have any symbolic meaning?
 
Just to illustrate the "weeping heart"
I don't know the answer either.
(plus, I really like this picture) ;)

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The "weeping heart" was a very popular decorative design through the 1700's and 1800's. You'll see it as a brass or silver inlay in muzzle loader stocks, scrimshawed into powder horns, and as a cutout (often lined with red trade cloth) in the flap of hunting pouches.
As best I can tell from past research, it may have been intended to signify the fifth wound of Christ ... or maybe it was just an attractive design and people started using it. I have found nothing really definitive either way.
Other traditional designs often used as inlays and piercings were the crescent moon, the hunter's star (that's the 4-point one with the vertical points broader and shorter than the horizontal ones), the Cross of Lorraine (especially on French pieces) and the Maltese cross.
Hope this information is of use to you.
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
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