I stumbled across this post on Facebook, and wanted to share it with you guys. There is an individual out there who feels that it is alright to alter original and genuine pieces of Native American jewelry by adding whirling log stamps to them.
The individual who creates these pieces claims that when he sells them, he is honest and upfront about them… I’m not gonna go on a rant about how I feel… just be on the lookout and stay on your toes. You will never find a vintage piece made between 1950-2010 with a whirling log on it.
Once people receive an education, these will look so out of place. Plus destroying the integrity of these exiting rings. Prior to the addition of the “whirling logs” there are only 3 rings that would meet my preferred aesthetics. After the addition, none. What are they really trying to prove?
@karne I didn’t want to post too much Info (I don’t want this to turn into a witch hunt for this individual) but he commented the following:
“It’s a bit skewed to only show this photo and not paint a whole picture of what my intentions are and where this is coming from. Main thing is that my intentions have never ever been to deceive anyone, I am and have always been obsessed with arrows, thunderbirds, peyote birds and the whirling log… if anything I have a immense respect for our traditions and works. As controversial as it is, I feel that it’s always a teachable moment when the symbol is used in NA pieces, which was stolen and bastardized for a hateful purpose”
The person who alters the jewelry claims he is Native. I don’t understand what “teachable moment” he is pursuing.
The question remains, why alter someone else’s art? If you admire someone"s creation, you may build on the idea, but you do not alter the original. Whether a one of a kind piece or an assembly line piece, you build your own piece off the idea.
Not right even if he’s upfront about adding the whirling logs. Down the road he won’t be there to repeat it to the next buyer.
I bought one (cuff) recently that I believe to be period. I’ll try to add a picture later when I get home.
That’s my thinking. As it gets passed on from one owner to the next, the story is going to get lost. Down the line, someone is going to end up buying that chip inlay ring thinking it’s fred Harvey era
Here is the cuff that I mentioned earlier. I love the turquoise and the simple stamped band. It weighs a little more than 24 grams. Cuff is 5/8” and turquoise cab approximately 1/2” by 5/8”.
What’s your opinion about the age?
To be completely honest, I think this is a modern Fred Harvey reproduction piece. What I noticed first is that there is very little wear to the turquoise or the silver, which would be very rare for a cuff that’s supposed to be roughly 100 years old. If you look closely at your whirling log stamp, it’s the same stamp that’s used on the pictures I posted, yours is just a little thicker.
@KWEST The direction of the rolling log doesn’t matter. Lots of people say that if it’s flipped one way, it’s German, and if it’s flipped the other way, it’s native. Usually that is the case but it’s not always true.
On pottery and rugs it’s understandable because it depends on perspective, on jewelry, well, i find it intentional to appeal to certain people. There was a guy about 2 years ago that made a whirling log design out of rocks in his front yard. Evidently it was huge and visable from the air. The news got a hold of it, then the police etc…he was affiliated with the Arian bhd. He just wanted to bring back the goodness of the symbol, same as this guy.
