Relics of the American West: 1850-1920 - ONLINE ONLY
Lot 2422:
Description
This collection features three ethnographic-style implements highlighting the transition between natural and trade materials. The centerpiece is a primitive-style hand-forged iron trade axe head featuring a flared blade and a distinct circular “S” touchmark on the cheek. This mark is characteristic of 18th-century smiths, potentially referencing makers like Samuel Edge of Detroit (c. 1785) or British suppliers like Robert Sorby, who provided “hache de traite” (trade hatchets) for the fur trade. Accompanying the axe is a hand-carved bone L-shaped pick or handle with a smooth, aged patina and natural pitting. The third item is a stone-headed “skull cracker” war club, featuring a stone head secured to a wooden shaft via shrunken rawhide—a traditional Plains-style construction where the drying hide provides a permanent high-tension bond. The bone shows natural discoloration and minor hairline surface cracks; the iron axe head exhibits heavy surface oxidation and pitting consistent with an 18th/19th-century burial or long-term exposure; the rawhide on the club shows drying, some loss to the handle wrap, and fraying at the base. Bone: H 12″, W 5″, D 1.75″. Axe: H 7″, W 3.25″, D 1.25″. Club: H 8″, W 2″, D 2″. Please see photos.
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