🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Effigy found along a creek in tennessee. Any help?

lostandrare · Dec 28, 2021

Found while hunting around in the gravel

releventchair · Dec 28, 2021

Shovelnose sturgeon are found in Tenn.
Your piece has more of a crawfish/crawdad tail. And hints of turtle markings.

Turtle part of legend of creation varies by people and region , but combined with sturgeon and crawdad could be an artists interpretation. Or a character/creature of mythology I'm not familiar with...
Color hints of a lot of yellow originally. With pinks showing too. Such hints partly of adhesives and paint.

Does not seem an ancient relic , but more a recent piece. I'd sure like to know it's age regardless.
An offering to the water?

Neat piece. Very creative , and not a quickly created one.

DCMatt · Dec 28, 2021

Reminds me of a walrus or seal.. But it's a few thousand miles off course in Tennessee.

Post it here for a better ID:

https://www.treasurenet.com/forums/north-american-indian-artifacts.82/

CreakyDigger · Dec 28, 2021

I thought of sturgeon as well when looking at it, all but the tail. Cool piece, whatever it is.

lostandrare · Dec 28, 2021

DCMatt said:
Reminds me of a walrus or seal.. But it's a few thousand miles off course in Tennessee.

Post it here for a better ID:

https://www.treasurenet.com/forums/north-american-indian-artifacts.82/

I posted over there as well. Thanks for the suggestion!

lostandrare · Dec 28, 2021

releventchair said:
Shovelnose sturgeon are found in Tenn.
Your piece has more of a crawfish/crawdad tail. And hints of turtle markings.

Turtle part of legend of creation varies by people and region , but combined with sturgeon and crawdad could be an artists interpretation. Or a character/creature of mythology I'm not familiar with...
Color hints of a lot of yellow originally. With pinks showing too. Such hints partly of adhesives and paint.

Does not seem an ancient relic , but more a recent piece. I'd sure like to know it's age regardless.
An offering to the water?

Neat piece. Very creative , and not a quickly created one.

I appreciate your input! It's giving me a great starting point. I was collecting the naturally tumbled glass at the time. The oldest glass was really thick smokey blue and green.

UnderMiner · Dec 28, 2021

Interesting crayfish talisman. Maybe someone believes it will appease some spirits somewhere.

releventchair · Dec 28, 2021

[Certain Native American tribes like the Menominee have spring rituals honoring this fish, and the Ojibwe tribe has a sturgeon clan. In both these settings the sturgeon represents vitality and long life even in the face of hardship.

When the sturgeon spirit comes into our lives it reminds us of how to gracefully navigate our emotions and remain in control when life’s waters turn rough. Change is inevitable. The harder you resist the more unhappy you’ll become, but when you truly listen to your instincts you know exactly the best direction in which to swim.]

Waterbug. Muskrat.Turtle.
Different cultures had different interpretations of who brought mud up to build dry ground. And who else tried but couldn't dive far enough.
Only one group found in a quick search who had crawdad bring up mud.

[Crayfish, also known as crawfish, do not play a prominent role in the folklore of most Native American tribes. Like other small animals and insects, they sometimes appear in legends to symbolize meekness and humility. In Osage mythology, however, Crayfish is a much more important figure who plays the role of Earthdiver, the small but brave creature who retrieves mud from the bottom of the primordial ocean so that the earth can be created.]

Tenn. history really doesn't toss much up for who lived there pre Euro era.
Multiple groups in and around post contact.
But that does not mean it's a native derived from any given era's history in Tenn. involved either...

Being (only my opinion as usual) the o.p.'s piece resembles multiple creatures combined makes it more unique.
And a creature can appear in any form or combination of forms in a vision.
How that vision came to be seen though....So far only the artist knows , for me.

crashbandicoot · Dec 28, 2021

It,s definitely a cool and unique piece.I love it and if I found it I,d give it a place of honor to be displayed.Around here we revere the Crawdad as we call them,mostly boiled and peeled with a cold beer!