Featured Good Afternoon Everyone! I really need your help in identifying a bead/stone. Ty

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by ezeepass, Jan 3, 2023.

  1. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! This was given to my daughter about 15 years ago and she was about to throw them out, but end up giving it to me. The turquoise seems to be real and the heishi beads are real. I don’t know what the three long ones are, but when looked at under a loop it looks like skin with finger print pattern or it could be from the tool that was used. I am also not sure what the turtles are made of. So I am hoping you will be able to help me. Thank you all in advance for your help and enjoy the rest of your day!

    CJ

    IMG_5097.jpg IMG_5096.jpg IMG_5098.jpg IMG_5099.jpg IMG_5101.jpg IMG_5095.jpg
     
  2. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    Long ones are sea urchin spines.
     
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  3. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    Thank you So much
     
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  4. Robert Ransom

    Robert Ransom Well-Known Member

    Turtles = soapstone???
     
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  5. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    I was thinking jasper for the turtles.
     
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  6. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    Thank you RR for taking a look and responding to post
     
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  7. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    I was thinking the same, but was not sure. Thank you so much for responding and enjoy your evening.
     
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  8. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    Good Morning Bronwen! I would like to ask you one last question about this piece. I have been searching the Net to see if I can see something simular, but no luck. So I would like to know if this more southwestern or native american, and do you think this was made in the 70's? I ask because I can find the turtles shapes in the stone. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much and have a great day
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  9. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    As the proprietor of a couple of turtles, I naturally have all sorts of other turtles that do not require the bathtub, & as a former collector of Zuni fetishes, a large proportion of those are NA. I spent some time looking at them to see if there was any consistent way the shells & feet are rendered. There is not. Although most of mine have have more defined legs, some are sketchy like these. The scutes of the shells are executed in a variety of ways, none of mine quite like this.

    There are really 2 questions here: were the turtle beads carved by a NA hand: was the person who strung it all together NA? Answer to first is maybe. However, the Chinese also turn out stuff like this, which gets sold at the big Southwest rock & mineral shows, & is sometimes purchased by NA buyers. I have a gut feeling only when it comes to the second question. This looks more like a non-NA hobbyist piece to me; I cannot specify why, although the sea urchin spines & lobster claw clasp both seem 'wrong' to me. It is obviously NA/SW influenced, but I don't think you can claim much more than that for it.

    BTW, in pix the pea sized beads also look like jasper.
     
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  10. ezeepass

    ezeepass Well-Known Member

    Thank you for answering my questions, I sincerely appreciate it always! I was also going more toward SW because of the clasp. Thank you again, stay safe and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
     
    Bronwen likes this.
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