Beautiful Flute

[irbaddadjoe]

I wanted to share this with everyone. This flute was handed down from several generations and now belongs to my father. It was found in a cave in Texas that was believed to have been inhabited at one time by the aztecs. The mouth piece is made from a deer antelor it appears. And the rest appears to be a baked clay. It plays perfect. I thought it is completely fascinating and wanted to share.

 

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[Marc]

Absolutely AWESOME! Where (roughly) in Texas?

 

[irbaddadjoe]

About 40 miles west of Ft worth Marc.

 

[Copperhead]

That is absolutley stunning....Thanks for sharing...Have you done any research on it?

 

[kieser sousa/rip]

WOW ! Very nice ! What size is it ?

 

[irbaddadjoe]

Its about 12 inches long and about 3/4 inch in diameter. No copperhead I have done no research on it. First time I seen the flute was when I was down at my dads for Thanksgiving. I came back home and have been thinking about it ever since until I got back for Christmas and got some photos. Had always heard about the flute but never had seen it until it was given to my dad. I was hoping some of you guys have maybe seen similiar pieces .

 

[Cannonman17]

From the pics it looks like it has nice mineral deposits/patina on it- interesting piece for sure.

 

[Goldiver]

Speechless!

 

[creekhunter]

Thats probably a one of a kind, I have seen a few, but none with such intricate work, thanks for showing us!

 

[irbaddadjoe]

Your welcome. I was completely in Awe of it to.

 

[Neanderthal]

Unusual flute, for sure. If found in texas, then it's a ways away from home. Honestly, it doesn't look like anything I have seen found in cave environs, I don't see any mineralization on it that I would expect to see from there. The antler mouthpiece looks awful pristine too. But, sometimes pics fool people.

Here's what I see. The ceramic and paint itself is reminescent of Western Mexico or even further south. If I had to guess, I'd say Colima(?). Honestly, it looks like more of a tourist item though (don't shoot me for my opinion). I've examined a buttload of meso-american ceramics and can tell you some things to look for. Under magnification look for micro fissures, root traces, calcium carbonate or other valid deposits. Even the tourist stuff has the gray "applied" deposits to make things appear much older than they actually are, don't let them fool you (there are a ton of them on the market). They are painted on then brushed off and adhere only in the nooks and crannies, but close scrutiny will show that they are not actually valid deposits (valid deposits are also much more sporadic). Look closely at the slip. As I stated a bit ago, there should be micro fissures that are visible under magnification, even noticable on the highly polished chimu blackware slips.

Sorry, I went to rambling on! Anyways....thanks for sharing, it's a fun looking piece.

 

[Marc]

That's what I found out from another source, after I responded to this - probably a tourist item.

 

[irbaddadjoe]

Thanks Matt for taking a look. I have been interested in artifacts a long time and I had never come across anything like it . So I too had my reservations about it being authentic Aztec. However even as a tourest item I do know it is still very old. Because it was supposedly found by a friend of my Great grandfather in this cave. My grandfather had talked about it when we would come in with an arrowhead. So I know it has been passed down alot of years. It was just recently that my father received it . One day it will be mine and I can then research it a little better. Thanks guys. Hey Matt I still have those fossilized bird eggs with holes drilled in em that I'm sure has something to do with native americans because of where they were found. If you would like to examine them I would send you a couple to examine. Holler back if interested . Or even Marc or any of our artifact experts. We have alot of knowledgeable people here.

 

[Neanderthal]

Would love to see a few of them up close and personal. I may be able to take some microscopic pics of them for you and help ascertain their origin.

 

[irbaddadjoe]

I appreciate it Matt. PM me the address and I'll get em that way. Thank ya sir.

 

[Pepper2004]

tourist item or not, it's still beautiful.

 

[Snakeman]

Holy Cow!!! that is fantastic! love the snake... I would have passed out if I found that thing what a true treasure thank you for the post!!

 

[ShieldJaguar]

It looks glazed. If glazed then it should be colonial at the earliest, though it looks tourist curio to me. Cool none the less.

 

[tmodel]

to me all i see that looks like it might be glaze, could be caused by a lot of rubbing with swetety hands, a lot of would be suprised at the color change and how smove things look and refleck the light. there it a lot of oil in our swet. Terry