I found this piece years ago at out local flea market. The vendor knew nothing about it except the family was selling a lot of stuff to return home for an emergency. She said the man told her it was old.
I wasn’t sure whether it was from Nepal or somewhere or whether it was Native American. Then at the market several years ago I was wearing it with my 70’s “Rista” Royston pendant when two women came thru the doorway. The younger one saw what I was wearing and stopped in her tracks. Her comment was “that’s big medicine you’re wearing. I don’t even remember what I replied. They came on in and walked over to the counter and she told me that she and her aunt were Cherokee. Our conversation made me start wondering about both pieces again. (I got the Royston necklace that same day from another man who stopped at the same vendor and was still nearby)
I posted the Royston necklace on here a long time ago hoping to identify the hallmark and after six months a girl came on and partially identified him and confirmed that the turquoise was Royston from the 70’s.
About the same time I started trying to figure this one out. After a lot of research that included physical characteristics and dimensions, I came to believe that it might be a wolf fang.
Then about a month ago, an old friend was visiting and she picked it up and asked me about it. I told her wolf fang and she said she didn’t think so. She said she thought it was from a bear—-a young bear probably. Now for the really weird part—-the tv was on in the background and as she said that the tv got louder and there was a bear cub looking at us. We looked at each other and in unison said “did that just happen “. Just for the record, I don’t drink or smoke so I can’t explain it but it was bizarre.
I am, however, taking Prednisone which makes me very talkative so you are getting the entire lengthy story which I usually don’t share because it’s not understood by most people.
So can someone please help me figure out what I actually have? I have taken a lot of pictures. I think the top has a snake around the turquoise.
Any and all information would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
That is an excellent piece, Looks like a snake to me, too. Sorry, I am unable to ID the fang.
That sounds a bit like there’s a spirit guide lurking who wants you to believe in the guidance it’s providing you…I love that you have been gifted with the amazing gift of storytelling…use them both wisely…lol
What a nice thing to say. I have been learning to pay attention to the “knowing” feeling. And every great find deserves to have a history. Happy shopping to you!
I really enjoy your posts on here and I really admire your heirloom collection and the thoughts you jot down in here…they are very enlightening and you pick the most beautiful pieces! If your ever in the Northeastern Ohio region I’d love to invite you over! Thankyou
~Stefanie
Koliopee
Thank you for the compliment and the invitation. You never know what might happen in life. I have “yankee” cousins in the NJ/PA area, one grandson in a rural area about three hours above Dayton and two more grandsons in Illinois about 30-45 minutes from Cahokia Mounds Native American archeological site. Seems you might be somewhere in the middle. I’ll let you know if I head that way.
I scored a cuff last night and am trying to figure out the hallmark. The picture is not good and the cuff is so dark that it’s very difficult to see. I might have to wait till it gets here to find out.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Are you near a natural history museum? Perhaps one of their biologists or paleontologists could ID the tooth. My husband used to sift fossils in his college days for the museum out here and they commonly used teeth and tooth fragments to ID the animals.
Thanks for saying that. Had not even thought to take it to the museum. My Dad used to take stuff there regularly to get it identified. He was always finding fossils and other things in the marsh and mud. Then came the years of metal detecting and identifying those finds. Guess it’s time to head to Charleston. Thanks again.
No problem glad to help…I forgot to say, if you do end up getting an ID, please let us know what it turns out to be. Would be interesting to know.
Well if you do get to the NJ area, let us know what you’d like for dinner & a chat! I also have enjoyed learning from your posts and would be honored to share food & our collection.
-Bob
Hi @Islandmomma! Talk about a delayed response…I’m looking through prior posts about Royston turquoise before starting another post about beautiful Royston. I found your post and thought your fang pendant was so interesting. The silver work in exquisite!
I’m thinking this is a fang from a wolf or large dog. Dog Canine teeth (fangs) have very long roots and are more slender that heavy bear canine teeth. So considering the length and slender form…that’s my vote!
seen a few,eh?
lol
odds a bit better on coyote than wolf?
I’d be thinkin’ of hog tusk,myself.
Truthfully I thought coyote initially, but the size of the tooth (2 inches) made me think it came from a larger canine. I’m a retired veterinarian, so I’ve seen my share of canine teeth. And I’ve seen several necklaces strung with coyote teeth; they’re quite a bit smaller. Now a hog tusk is a horse of a different color - lol…
I think it’s bone, not tooth, and Tibet-Nepal in origin. There’s a lot of mountain Asia material set this way, with the end also capped in silver, which is of course highly atypical for US/Native work. Some of it is advertised as yak “tooth” in shape but is reconstituted from powdered bone.
@chicfarmer Good information. If it were tooth it likely was polished down to smooth out the transition area between the tooth and the long root, which is not common. I’ve not seen a lot of jewelry from Nepal-Tibet, but I agree stylistically it is not typical NA.
talking to a seller while deciding on a “neck-knife” a couple years ago. was curious about their bone handles-what sort of bone? “shin”
ok,what species?
“camel”
I’d guess that he was originally from ne indian sub-continent so that made sense to me
anyway,got a nearly 6in total knife,plain bone handle w/ leather sheath. glued 2 (royston) cabs & hung another on the tip of the sheath. now that I have 2 (carrico lake) carved bears,at least one will go on the handle