The Real Deal

[Cannonman17]

Just thought I would start a thread where people can post pictures of artifacts that they aren't sure about in terms of authenticity- get peoples opinions. Here's mine, been in the my collection for fifteen years now and it was supposed to have come from Alabama- looks really questionable to me because it's so nice, a too good to be true type. What do you guys think? Close examination shows tons of little striations and poc marks in other areas-

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[wirelessworldinc]

I am by no means an authority, but it looks to perfect, almost machine made. If is authentic I would say museum grade. Mine has lots of pit marks and not so even.

 

[d2]

Have you looked at it with a micro scope, or at least a magnafying glass? If it is machine made you shud be able to find a place or 2 on it that still has some machine marks on it somewhere, but from what I can, see not being able to hold it, it looks real to me also. Great piece...d2

 

[Cannonman17]

I've looked at it under magnification but don't see anything to make me believe it's fake. The small striations that are in the surface of the rock don't cover large and uniform areas like one might expect to find if it were made with a grinding wheel.. you see only small areas that appear to be ground at a time. I just don't have enough ground stone tool experience to know. I really believe that this piece could go either way. Here's a close up, maybe this will help.

 

[d2]

I am going with gen-u-wine. With the picture's and the info it looks good to me. I have an adz that the edge was broken on and the Indians were in the process of resharpening it and you can see the striations in it also. I will post a picture afterwhile of it and you can compare marks...d2

 

[Atlantis0077]

Morning Cannonman,

Nah, thats just a rock!...LOL

That is a pretty piece for sure....Barbed axes are faked more than some of the others...mainly I think because they are more impressive looking and fetch a somewhat larger price. That one seems rather narrow and the polish is quite uniform.....If authentic you DO have a museum piece, if not you have a very nice craft item, one that took more time than the usual faked axe does.

I am no expert on it for sure, or would be making a living papering such items. How does the bit look and how "thick" is it. The raised portion, ridges, look a little square and the polish is a bit more uniform than you normally see, but if it's a ceremonial piece you would expect high polish and little wear...so again your back to square one....you could bite the bullet and have it authenticated by a reputable scholar, but run the risk of having it shot down and still not "knowing" for sure, or just call it authentic and enjoy it......a beautiful piece in any event.

Atlantis