Shell Duck Effigy

Charl

Silver Member
Jan 19, 2012
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4,698
Rhode Island
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
These glass trade beads, shell crescent, and shell duck effigy come from the Marsh Site, a Seneca Iroquois site in upstate New York dating to the mid 1600's. The necklace was strung in modern times, of course.

Marsh Site NY Artifacts 002.JPGMarsh Site NY Artifacts 015.JPGMarsh Site NY Artifacts 018.JPG

Short article on duck effigy necklaces:

The Necklace

neckla1.jpg
 

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First those are awesome relics you have, and looking at the effigy it looks like it could be ivory or bone, I am no expert but the patina looks more that of which you see on bone or ivory and not shell, just a thought. Absolutely awesome pieces!
 

Nice relic...
 

First those are awesome relics you have, and looking at the effigy it looks like it could be ivory or bone, I am no expert but the patina looks more that of which you see on bone or ivory and not shell, just a thought. Absolutely awesome pieces!

Thanks! The duck does have a nice polish at that. You can see polish on at least one in the black and white photo as well. I just checked it out with a 20x loupe, esp. the underside, which I didn't photograph. It's not ivory. I think it's shell, and shell ducks are a common effigy "bead" at Iroquois sites. But it does look like polished, patinated bone, I can see that, some spots on underside make me think shell on the other hand. Thanks for the thought!
 

Very nice!
 

Beautiful artifact, Charl! It's interesting to see how it's put together.
Nick
 

My G.Grandnother was Iroquois. Thanks for the view of a culture not often seen here. Am enjoying your informative post.
 

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