Jack pot finds today

[jimb]

My back went out. Too many P.L.F.'s So I went looking for treasure at the resale shops. All of these items probably could be posted elseware but they do fit here. The purple bottle is hand blown and has MMA on the bottom. The large bottle is also one piece. The cars are all Tootsie Toys, except for the blue Volkswagen on the right. Now for the real interesting one. It SEEMS to be real Aztec. It is very heavy. It was fired in sand. The inside is slightly thick and has a red color to it. Being heart shaped I would hate to thing what it was used for. All of the decorations are of that ERA. What do you think. I would relay like to hear your pros and cons!

[jimb]

I forgot to say that the gray around the top is patina. And I know that they can even fake that.

[acevillav]

Things like that are hard to authenticate. What do the wear patterns look like? Do you have any larger colleges close to your place? They may be able to give you a definite answer. As long as you didn't invest a ton of $ it's still a ice piece regardless.

Acevillav

[stefen]

This response is for general information only...having said that, there are so many knock-offs and fakes of Aztec and Mayan artifacts that come out of Mexico, it would be my guess that anything should be bought knowing that its a fake.

If it happens that if it can be authenicated, then you are ahead of the game.

A walk through the tourist shops in Tijuana, a border town below San Diego, California, will turn up hundreds of items that are bogus.

[jimb]

Stefen, I agree. That is with everything you buy from Stamps and coins to ceramic's and pottery. I actually get the things that I like knowing that it may be a fake. But I still have hope!

[mistergee]

that rum bottle is GIHUGIC . the top of it looks like those beer tubes(can't think of the right word too many dead brain cells) that were popular a few years back. hmmmm.....maybe that could explain the dead brain cells

[JP]

I have seen many real and fake Mayan and Aztec artifacts. Some are very hard to tell if they are modern. The piece looks to be modern. Usually when you find what looks like dirt in the grooves this is usually a sign that someone was trying to make it look old. It's still a nice piece. You can buy authentic pieces throughout Mexico and Central America, the problem is they are illegal to take back from most countries, depending on which country. The sad thing is you see the stuff being broken up everywhere due to construction and no one cares about the stuff, but it's illegal to remove it from the country....figure that.

Here are some pictures of a few items that I have found by my house here in San Salvador. One is of a Mayan King? and the other is a flute. They were all found when the bulldozers finished there work. There were thousands of pieces of broken, painted pottery around. SAD!!!!

The glass pieces are beautiful.

[jimb]

Your pieces are excellent! How large are they? Not being able to take pieces out of south America is relatively a new law. Years ago it was O.K. I have a half dozen pre Colombian heads from Veracruse that were found in the late fifties. They were used in gardens to ask the gods to make them grow. They are only about 2 inches across and all different. I also found one in Wisconsin with my metal detector. Have you ever been to Justen Karr's museum? Being where you are you must have a very happy time looking around!

[JP]

Jim,

The head is about the size of a limon.  The whistle about the size of a rolled up wash cloth.  I have also found mixed in with the broken pieces; obsidian arrows, ceramic beads, and jade beads.  I also have legs to bowls that are birds or heads, all with beads inside them.  I have tried to put a few bowls back together with the pieces.  It makes one sad that there is not much importance put to these type of things.   Just like back in the States, progress is first. 

There is a law in El Salvador that they do not want Maya classic and colonial era artifacts to leave the country.  The objects that I have found are not Maya Classic nor are they colonial.  I just don't want to take a chance and have problems in the future, so all objects stay here.

I have bought down here even the famous swords that the conquistadors would have carried.  I bought 2 long swords and 1 short sword for around  $250.  I found along the handles of the long swords a hallmark of a shield.  I sold them before going back to the USA back in 2005.  I miss them.

Just like back at home in Florida, I'm good at finding stuff on the surface.  It's considered garbage to the average Joe.  Another man's trash is another man's treasure.....


*****

Notice on the head that it has a crown and spools in the ears.  Also notice on the whistle the necklace...these are not common type pieces, but no one seems to care about them.  They were left to be smashed up....very sad.  Somebody wrote an article recently that whistles have to do with sacrifice....I don't know if it is true, just reporting it.

[jimb]

Lets see if I can spell this right. Is your piece Ohmic? I looked around for mine but could not find them. When they show up I will post them.

[JP]

They seem to be Post Maya, another words after Maya classic. There were also a lot of, I don't know what you call them but, feet for the bowls that are heads of birds. Two that I found there were heads of roosters. I don't know (and I've gotten two different answers) if there were chickens here before the conquest.

There are parts of the country down here where they have Olmec cultural ruins. I saw pictures of an area where there are the big round stone heads that they are famous for.

The place where I found the objects was an indigenous city. If you look up on a map of San Salvador, El Salvador, the place where this is located is next to the United States embassy. Next to there are many subdivions of homes. It used to be a coffee plantation. There are archaeological treasures everywhere but no one cares about them.

A friend of mine down here has a nice collection of things they found on a farm. I will look for the picture and post it later. They found a stone box, about the size of a shoe box, with many jade pieces inside. It is something that belongs in a museum.

Nice talking with you again.