Plummet From Maine

[Charl]

Made of steatite I believe. York Co., Maine. The hole is biconically drilled and the groove connects both ends of the hole. The auctioneer(Old Barn Auctions) listed it as an effigy plummet. I guess the hole could be an eye and the groove a mouth, maybe a sea bird like the extinct Great Auk. But, the hole and groove could just be functional. The hole insures it can be used as a weight and the groove would prevent wobble once tied off.

 

[quito]

Interesting piece!

Has it been pecked and ground into that shape? Or in your opinion was it a natural stone just modified with the hole and groove? May help determine if it were an effigy type if it were not in natural form.

 

[Charl]

Interesting piece!

Has it been pecked and ground into that shape? Or in your opinion was it a natural stone just modified with the hole and groove? May help determine if it were an effigy type if it were not in natural form.

Good question. Since it's steatite or soapstone, it was probably quarried and shaped from scratch. That's my guess, it has overall polish and you don't really see much, if any, relic pecking. So many plummets, especially ones with small knobs, really make you wonder how they could have remained secured if used as fishing weights. It's a problematic class of artifacts, as has been noted by many. This one leaves no doubt it could be used. The larger plummet is from Rhode island and it seems fair to ask if we can expect a secure lashing with that and it won't slip off in the water? Same story with the smaller one, how does that stay attached I wonder?

 

[katdancing]

Awesome find! Trust you will find more Kat

 

[monsterrack]

Charl JMO I think where they are getting the effigy name from is that the hole is so far away from the end , it's not where most holes are on drilled plummets. It does look like some type of sea bird, that's a cool artifact

 

[Charl]

Charl JMO I think where they are getting the effigy name from is that the hole is so far away from the end , it's not where most holes are on drilled plummets. It does look like some type of sea bird, that's a cool artifact

That's an excellent point, monsterrack. Sounds logical to me, thanks.

 

[old digger]

Quite an unique artifact!

 

[Rege-PA]

The grooves are very functional and ingenious, the cordage lying in the grooves was protected from repeated bashing against rocks and lasted much longer without breaking. This artifact was a prized possession and the grooves helped to insure it against loss. Nice piece.

 

[Raymond Nelson]

It's really nice for a plummet thats for sure

 

[BearCreek]

That is a fantastic artifact! I can't imagine the amount of work it took to make one of those! Makes me curious about how they used it. What did they use for the line? How did they bring the fish in? I love the history that goes hand in hand with artifact hunting!

 

[crj1968]

The grooves are very functional and ingenious, the cordage lying in the grooves was protected from repeated bashing against rocks and lasted much longer without breaking.

Good observation! Nice piece Charl...I always like to see your east coast stuff.....so different than what's out west.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Great looking Plummet. When you say Old Barn Auctions do you mean the one in Ohio? They have a very bad reputation on selling fakes and repros as good. My brother got burned bad by them and they refused to give his money back.

 

[newnan man]

Great looking Plummet. When you say Old Barn Auctions do you mean the one in Ohio? They have a very bad reputation on selling fakes and repros as good. My brother got burned bad by them and they refused to give his money back.

I've got a Thebes from them years ago. I'm older than it was! No real way to get a refund, they auction for 3rd parties. Never again.

 

[Charl]

Great looking Plummet. When you say Old Barn Auctions do you mean the one in Ohio? They have a very bad reputation on selling fakes and repros as good. My brother got burned bad by them and they refused to give his money back.

Yep, that one. But, I knew the finder very well. He had consigned several of his finds in that particular auction, all from Maine. And he himself had not called it an effigy, although once it was listed that way, we both felt it couldn't be ruled out as such. In fact, I came up with the Great Auk idea, since they were common in the North Atlantic region of Maine and Maritime Canada in the past. I don't take the idea too seriously, it's a perfectly functional design....

 

[Charl]

Here's an illustration of New England plummets from Charles Willoughby's "Antiquties of the New England Indians", published in 1935. A couple are perforated, and others have somewhat fanciful shapes. One might ask if there is any relationship in function of these items to the class of artifacts known as charmstones from California. Plummets continue to stir debate as to their actual function, despite being traditionally classed with fishing gear for many years. Also shown are two Rhode Island plummets from my collection. One is both knobbed and grooved, and the other is oversized at 8" long. Also, a suggested halting for a basic knobbed plummet, if it were a fishing weight...

 

[jamus peek]

For whatever it is worth they are found in California and are labeled as fish form charmstones. The groove around the end is also a common type of groove found on phallic charmstones.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

First, let me be clear that I wasn't questioning the Plummet. It looks good as gold to me. Just warning you about Old Barn Auctions. Since you knew the seller you are good. My brother bought several Thebes and Lost Lakes about 15 years ago and every one of them were bad. This was before he knew better. He is a lot better at seeing fakes now.

 

[Charl]

First, let me be clear that I wasn't questioning the Plummet. It looks good as gold to me. Just warning you about Old Barn Auctions. Since you knew the seller you are good. My brother bought several Thebes and Lost Lakes about 15 years ago and every one of them were bad. This was before he knew better. He is a lot better at seeing fakes now.

No, I didn't think you questioned the plummet, though that's alright too, not a problem. I did not know of any reputation at the time, and often got their catalog, as they advertised in Prehistoric Antiquties Quarterly. Eventually I learned of connections among several major, and I mean national reputation major, collectors from that region, and who practiced things like faking provenance. The relics were real. The location where they were found was up to the buyer. Want a point from your home state? Sure, no problem, I'll write your state's name on whatever you're looking for. That kind of BS. There are other Auction houses, I will not name them, where you just have to be there to examine stuff in hand. Live auction houses specializing in Native American artifacts are always a buyer beware arena. Inadvertent or not. Always best to actually attend and avoid absentee bidding. Also, do not overbid by absentee ballot. See a real relic you like, and maybe it is good and is worth $200 perhaps? And you decide you just have to have it, and leave an absentee bid of $500. I guarantee the auction house will make sure you win that lot for $495. I got that plummet in the early 90's.

 

[Charl]

First, let me be clear that I wasn't questioning the Plummet. It looks good as gold to me. Just warning you about Old Barn Auctions. Since you knew the seller you are good. My brother bought several Thebes and Lost Lakes about 15 years ago and every one of them were bad. This was before he knew better. He is a lot better at seeing fakes now.

Forgot to say, thanks for the warning. It's been ages since I bid on anything in a live auction house venue. Can't take anything with me, so, except on very rare occasions, I stopped buying any of the collectables I like.

 

[Backwoodsbob]

I'm glad you posted this one. The one with 8 at the end. That has two meanings. I will tell you in private.

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