Hello! I am wondering if anyone can help me identify the origin of this beautiul sterling pendant broach. It is stamped sterling but I can’t find an artist hallmark. In doing some research it may have been made by the Indigenous People of the Northwest Coast (maybe Haida or potentially another Tribe within NW Coast?) or a replica?
I would love to know more about this really cool piece if anyone can provide some thoughts! Thank you 
It is a cool piece. Let’s start with what you know about it, and how you came to own it.
Thanks for taking a look. I’m always interested in learning the history behind a piece; my mom used to collect vintage jewelry, so I grew up around it.
I bought this at a consignment shop for my nephew, who is completely obsessed with birds. The shop had it labeled as “Aztec,” but that didn’t seem quite right to me. Before giving it to him I wanted to learn a bit more about what it actually might be.
From some basic research, the design started to look more like Northwest Coast / Native American style to me, but I’m definitely still learning and could absolutely be mistaken. I’d really appreciate any insight into what tradition or region it might come from.
Thanks again for any thoughts.
Welcome to the forum, @Jac691. You’ve got your nephew a beautiful pin/pendant.
Without an artist’s hallmark, attribution is anyone’s guess, but it looks to be in the form of either Eagle or Raven, and of Northwest Coast/First Nations design.
Many times, Raven is portrayed with the sun in his beak, as he, among other things, is the bringer of light to the world in Northwest Coast cultures.
With any luck, those more knowledgeable than myself will chime in with their thoughts.
Thank you for sharing!
A reverse image search pulled up a couple of identical pin/brooches with the sterling stamp but no hallmark otherwise. Prices ranged from $69.95 to $190 for sale, attributed as Northwest Coast style generically - hard to say if it’s actually an NA artist or Anglo.
Agreeing with Ravenscry it’s most likely a Raven as an Eagle tends to have the “hawk hook” on it’s beak.
Calling on our BC Canadian member… @chamekke, do you have any thoughts on this cool piece?
I would also guess Raven due to the beak. I have a Raven pendant made by a First Nations artist, and yours looks a bit like this in the beak…
I purchased him at this shop in Nainamo, British Columbia. You might try checking with them to see if they could help you.
@Ziacat , if pressed I too would lean towards Raven rather than Eagle. But it is somewhat ambiguous (the bill isn’t as long as Raven’s usually is, Eagle usually has more of a hook at the tip, and IME you more commonly see Eagle, well, spreadeagled than Raven).
To me it looks like a vintage cast production piece. I like the brooch/pendant combo!
I agree. I was surprised it don’t have the MAG hallmark on the back.
Thank you for the background, @Jac691 . I completely agree with @Ravenscry’s assessment that without without attribution, it’s impossible to say by whom the pendant was made.
What I can speak to is how it was likely made. Looking at the back of the pendant features like the roundness of the edges, texture, and areas of porosity indicate to me that the pendant is lost wax cast from a handmade master. This is almost never done for a ‘one off’ piece, so I think it was very likely reproduced for resale in at least ‘some of a kind’ quantities at some point, and there are probably at least several other identical castings out there in circulation. The solder work on the pin and pendant finding are very clean. Good workmanship!
I found several identicle pins by searching. Did not see any adapted to be a pendant.
Here is a current Ebay listing.
Thank you all so much for the thoughtful responses and for the warm welcome here! I’m really impressed by the depth of knowledge in this group and appreciate everyone taking the time to share their insights.
@Ravenscry, @RedlandMaggie, @Ziacat, @mmrogers, and @chamekke @fernwood, I especially appreciated the explanations about the Raven symbolism, the design details in Northwest Coast artwork, and the insights into how the piece may have been made. The discussion about the beak shape and the casting process was fascinating.
My nephew will absolutely love hearing the story and background behind the piece when I give it to him. Your comments made it feel even more special.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge; I’m looking forward to learning more from this forum
Knowing it was lost wax cast, i would go back to thinking it is an eagle. It’s possible the original/master that was used for the mold had more fine detail than this iteration. He may have lost his beak hook in the process of casting.
For fun comparison, here’s a pendant with Eagle and Raven, designed by Odin Lonning for Metal Arts Group.
beautiful! thank you for sharing
Nice pendant you have. Congratulations.
I apologize in advance for the wordiness and deep dive here but I love NWC art so much I can barely keep my passion contained !
In all the world of Native American art, it’s the art from the Northwest Coast peoples that has inspired me the most. And I am not alone.
NWC art regularly brings the highest price at auction and is coveted by American, European and Asian collectors. Several NWC objects that have sold in the 2-4 million dollars range.
NWC design inspired the Surrealist of the 1930’s like Max Ernst and Andres Breton as well as the many Cubists artists. One can find many old photos of NWC art hanging in these artists studios. Why ? I believe it is the combination of the extraordinary concept of Northern formline design combined with the “beyond master-class carving skills” of these peoples.
Fundamentally, the concept of Northern formline is to take a three dimensional object and “ flatten” it into a series of two dimensional components. This is exactly what the Cubists and surrealist copied. But, the tribes of the NWC had rules and traditions around this process, and study reveals these flattened parts are there for a reason.
Your pendant is exactly this; You have a flattened eagle head with an ovoid eye and split “ U “ design beak, ( I say Eagle because of the subtle ear structures atop the head and sharpness of the talons below), followed by two ovoid devices which represent the shoulder joints of the wings, then split “ U “ wing feathers, another ovoid device representing the Eagle’s belly or its pygostyle, then two sharpened talons and finally tail feathers.
The use of humor and visual pun is extremely well know amongst these artists, as are depictions of human and animal transformations.
On your pin the artist has employed both here- if you squint your eyes you can see a 2nd face, likely Human- can you see the shoulder ovoids as eyes and the belly ovoid as a mouth? A visual pun for sure, but also a possible representation of a human transforming into a Spirit animal- the Eagle.
In the world of NWC jewelry the artist ( and carver, and painter, and author ) Bill Reid, reigns supreme. To me, he is a combo of Charles Laloma ( innovation and quality ), the Slender Maker ( traditional and early ) or Mark Chee ( modernism ), but even those comparison doesn’t quite sum up Bill Reid’s influence on NWC art. If you are ever in Vancover and entire museum is dedicated to his art.
For a very deep dive into NWC Formline see;
Bill Reid and Bill Holm : Indian Art of the Northwest Coast: A Dialogue on Craftsmanship and Aesthetics
Bill Reid : “Boxes and Bowls: Decorated Containers by Nineteenth-Century Haida, Tlingit, Bella Bella, and Tsimshian Indian Artists”
Bill Reid and Bill Holm : Indian Art of the Northwest Coast: A Dialogue on Craftsmanship and Aesthetics
Bill Holm*: Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form*
I would say your pendant is 1970’s - 1990’s and Haida.
Thanks for posting !
August
Thanks so much August for the detail and insight! What a cool history - I never realized that going into a consignment store to shop for a gift would have introduced me to a world with such a fascinating history and culture - thank you again!
