Some Of The Center Pieces Of My Collection

[Treasure_Hunter]

Took some new pictures of some of the center pieces of my collection. These 3 pieces I picked up as a set in 1991 from a antiquities dealer I was personal friends with. He got them from a rancher in Northern New Mexico who found them on his property.

They were examined by University of New Mexico who stated they were over 400 years old and theorized the iron axe head most likely came from something from conquistadors that was lost, taken or given due to the age.

Water Bottle is bear bladder that was filled with water then covered with clay and allowed to dry, it has leather straps, that have bone whistles, abolone and prong horn antelope pieces on it, the cap is buffalo bison horn tip.

The axe has a handle made of wood and was wrapped in flat wet rawhide and allowed to dry making it very tight when it dried and it has a leather wrist strap. Axe bit is iron

The bowl was made from some kind of material then inside covered in clay. Outside is leather and it is light, to light weight to be solid clay.

 

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[antmike915]

Excellent post Treasure; those are some great relics.

 

[GoDeep]

Those are some damn nice artifacts! Did the axe have the handle on it when you got it and is it as old as the axe head?

 

[newnan man]

That is a fine group of artifacts and the type we don't see often.

 

[Older The Better]

That?s another Level of cool, the points and beads and such we find are usually just a piece to an object, you?ve got the whole thing. It?s so interesting to see something that looks just like it did 400 years ago like the person wearing it just set it down. Thanks for sharing

 

[Gulf Coast Pirate]

Awesome items you got there!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Those are some damn nice artifacts! Did the axe have the handle on it when you got it and is it as old as the axe head?

Yes, the handle is original, all 3 pieces are as found, they were found in NM and there are no signs they were ever buried, there has been no restoration work done to them.

I was told they were found in the early 70s my friend Herb who dealt in antiquities. He met the owner in his travels for his business and traded it for some items Herb had, Herb made trips through the old west looking for old Harper's Weekly and Leslie"s Weekley bound volumes of newspapers and other antiquities.

I use to deal in antique news papers and would buy from Herb in the mid 80s and acquired it from him in 91. Herb was like an early version of the TV show "American pickers." When I met Herb in mid 1980s he had been doing it for over 20 years, he owned an Antiquities shop outside of St Louis Mo.

 

[MAMucker]

Never seen anything like that iron axe. The whole group Curious if the rawhide is cow, ox, bison or some other.
Never heard of Bear Bladder vessels. It looks ornamental or artsy to me. Maybe these were meant to be dignitary type gifts?
Unique group of artifacts. They do seem to belong together.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Never seen anything like that iron axe. The whole group Curious if the rawhide is cow, ox, bison or some other.
Never heard of Bear Bladder vessels. It looks ornamental or artsy to me. Maybe these were meant to be dignitary type gifts?
Unique group of artifacts. They do seem to belong together.

Just repeating what Univ of N.M said, if you look inside the bottle with flashlight you can see the remains of thin layer of skin that has pealed away from sides and bottom.

I have no doubt of it's authenticity, I was offered $2,500 by V.P. of St Louis archeological society when he saw it just for the bottle in mid 1990s but I was young and had no desire to sell. I Have a standing offer of $7,500 for the 3 piece set if and when I decide to sell it.

Wife and kids have no interest in my collection so at some point in future I will sell it. It does not sit in display case as pictured on opening post, it is in a thick protective glass dome.

 

[MAMucker]

Thanks for sharing this very cool collection. When I inspect those pictures, so many questions arise. I do not have experience to draw conclusions only questions.
I?ll never forget hearing the word perishable in the context of the survivability of certain materials artifacts were made of.
Not questioning veracity or authenticity. If they did originate with the Spanish Conquest it?s possible that this is a one off or a one of a kind find. The biggest question I have is how did they survive?

 

[CaptEsteban]

There are 1000’s of caves there and I have seen some beautiful original pieces found in caves from there.