Featured Haida or Tlingit silver spoon...

Recently acquired this cast sterling beaver effigy spoon (bit over 5" long), am sure it's a modern piece, and am hoping to identify the maker - took the best shot I could of the only marks, initials seen in the third pic. Perhaps I'm not seeing them correctly, so will leave it for other interpretation - sent an email to a Haida artisan with the initials I see, who is producing jewelry of similar quality, but haven't had any response - open to any opinions or suggestions...















~Cheryl

 

Wow - really nice, Cheryl

And your photos do it justice!

 

Thanks, it is a really nice spoon - but other than the marks pic, the photos are actually the seller's, though I cropped and edited them for a bit more clarity.

~Cheryl

 

Gorgeous, Cheryl, love it!
I can see a beaver and a face with a chief's hat. @komokwa and @all_fakes can tell you more, and probably know maker JS as well.

 

I don't recognize it; as said, cast, depicting a beaver with chew-stick; BOMA (Panabo Sales) does similar items, but this is not one of theirs.

 

Posted a couple of hours ago and is already on Google images.

 

are we sure this bad boy is sterling....and not pewter....or..?
I can't say who the artist is either....

It sure looks like a Haida beaver..... but the design structure is just that little bit off for me to state with certainty that is native made...

 

ya , that was quick,...and it;s been there for over an hour...

 

I think it's quite nice too, AJ, and those are the same initials I read, perhaps I'll hear back from the artisan I found - his cast silver jewelry pieces and some other items bear a strong resemblance, but I didn't find any with his initials, and when he does sign, appears to be either first initial and last name, or full name, in script. Regardless, a nice addition to my collection...

I had some question as to the material from just seeing the pics, but had little doubt once it arrived, just to be sure though, took it to my jeweler - acid-testing came up as sterling, he was bothered by the lack of a fineness mark (which didn't really concern me), and since it was small enough to fit in his specific gravity tank, he double-checked and it tested as sterling again. Also showed my little home scale is fairly accurate - the dry weight was 30.48 grams, and my scale kept shifting from 30 to 31, finally settling on 30 grams, close enough for my use...

~Cheryl

 

If it was made in the U.S. there is no requirement that metal be marked for content.

 

Yup, am well aware of that, and if I recall corrrectly, it's the same in Canada - if a piece is marked for quality, must bear a registered trademark. My jeweler is also aware there are unmarked precious metals, accurately gauging the content of unmarked high-karat gold, foreign coins, ingots, etc. brought to him for scrap is the main reason for his specific gravity setup - he also sees little NA silver, and just wanted to be sure before assuring me it was indeed sterling...

~Cheryl

 

I think "IS" is a possibility for the mark.

Know nothing on the topic though.

 

Could be. The bit that makes it look like a J could be a small dent.

 

Isreal Shotridge does cast work......but that would make it Tlingit.....& fer now that's all I got !

 

Thanks, Komo - not really seeing similarity in his work, though...

~Cheryl

 

Was a 30-year Alaskan resident. This is a Potlatch spoon. Some vocabulary:

Many folk in Alaska call the panhandle "Southeast" and the art of our wonderful people "Tlingit-Haida" in part because of their legal status as regional ANSCA native folk and in part because some of their art forms have merged. So, it's a Tlingit-Haida potlatch spoon.

A potlatch is a feast of sharing, both possessions as gifts, and of food. Here, I think (only the artist would know), the beaver has taken a man - a play on the opposite of what may by some be sadly thought as the reality. The beaver has 'out-foxed' the hunter.

And as a sterling silver spoon, it's absolutely fabulous and was either gifted to someone in Southeast as a gift of honor, or sold as a tourist item.

 

Thank you, Kathy - I really like it a lot and am pleased to add it to my spoon collection...

~Cheryl

 

Potlatch, ceremonial distribution of property and gifts to affirm or reaffirm social status, as uniquely institutionalized by the American Indians of the Northwest Pacific coast.

 

To add or clarify: it is a nice spoon, but I see no connection with any potlatch; it would have been made for sale; most cast items, if native designed, are by nature not one-of-a-kind. And Tlingit-Haida would be a bit of a misnomer.

 

Well, I got a coffee mug at a potlatch.....but it was dated and named as being gifted from the event !!