Posted 9 years ago
bigscarygi…
(1 item)
I got these from an estate sale in Upstate New York and I can't find much about any of the items anywhere. I'm hoping someone here knows something more about any of these pieces. I'm new to collecting and any help would be very much appreciated! Even to pin down an era on any of them would be most awesome!
The first is a stone pipe that's in two pieces & is intricately carved. It's 6" long and has a great carved face on the front of the pipe. The pipe appears hollow all the way through with some sticks in the straight part to keep it open?
The second is a hollow sculpted? red clay animal. Maybe a bear. It is 3.5" long.
Thanks again for reading!
yikes.....they scare me.......LOL
Just kidding. Neat!!
Cool collection!
The clay figure with the detached head is called a Tesuque rain god, made at Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico. They were popular souvenir items in the 1910-1930's era. There's a book about them, "When Rain Gods Reigned, From Curios to Art at Tesuque Pueblo" by Duane Anderson, which is the definitive reference. Since it's missing its arms, and the little pot that should be on his lap...which identifies it as a "rain god", it has minimal value at this time.
The piece you refer to as a "fighter dude" is wearing the traditional hair style, and the over-the-shoulder manta garment of a Hopi maiden. The black leggings aren't traditional, however. She should be wearing a skirt.
Wow, thank you so much Canyon Road! I thought maybe the clay figure with the detached head was a Tesuque, but I couldn't find any that looked quite like that one.
Thank you also for the book recommendation & the ideas about the Hopi maiden!
I appreciate everyone's feedback! Woohoo!