VERY RARE Authentic Original Chippewa Gunstock War Club INCREDIBLY RARE Indian Antique Weapon ca. 1790-1850 Start Price USD 4,995.00 Current Price USD 4,995.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, June 29, 2008 End Time Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Location San Diego, CA See more about 'VERY RARE Authentic Original Chippewa Gunstock War Club' Description INCREDIBLE and VERY RARE Original Authentic Ojibwe (Chippewa) Ceremonial Gunstock War Club ca. 1850ex-Private Collection - Information Below! - COA IncludedUp for auction is (to our knowledge) the only authentic, original ceremonial gunstock war club on the market anywhere in the world. To our knowledge, every other existing example in the world is currently already residing in a museum or private collection. This is an opportunity that comes along maybe 2-3 times in a lifetime. This incredible - and incredibly rare - Native American Indian relic dates to somewhere between the late 18th to mid 19th Century, ca. 1790-1850. A very similar is on display in the Detroit Institute of Arts museum and may be found published in the book Native Arts of North America by David Penny (see photo below). This cited example is dated to ca. 1800 and attributed to the Ojibwe of Upper Michigan. Penny states the designs on such clubs were often biographical in nature, and the bird on the published reference is referred to by Penny as a Thunderbird. Another similar example, originally from the Geratorex Collection of the Whitechapel Museum in London, may be found in the Museum of New France. This club also shares a couple attributes with similar clubs belonging to the Eastern Sioux (though we are rather confident in our Ojibwe / Chippewa attribution)This club, which measures 27 3/4 inches (704.9 mm) in length and 4 3/8 inches (111.1 mm) wide at the butt-end of the stock, has a (sharpened) steel (or iron?) point which measures 4 3/4 inches (120.7 mm) from the point to the club and approx. 2 inches (50.8 mm) in width. It is evenly and appropriately patinated (please see the photos below) and stable - it shows absolutely no sign of active rust. The club is incised with a variety of zoomorphic and geometric forms, including what appears to be a crane (described as a Thunderbird on the club in the aforementioned publication), fish, an arrow, and four-pointed stars. The incised lines are inlaid with what appears to be an ashen paste, and the club retains almost 100% of this inlay. This is a truly stunning, phenomenal piece, and it has been priced accordingly. This will be a one-run auction. Should this club not sell at auction, it will be shopped to tribal museums and collectors in the Great Lakes region, where it will most likely command more than we are asking here on eBay. Serious buyers will recognize we have priced this at what it would have sold for 10 years ago.This club came out of the collection of the late Cherokee Chester Phillips, who's grandparents walked the Trail of Tears. Chester was an avid collector, as well as the owner and operator of a private museum in Louisiana, Missouri until shortly before his passing. His collection included many fine prehistoric pipes and other fine items. However, this was without doubt one fo the finest items to come out of his collection.We had this appraised by an Antiques Road Show appraiser in January, where it appraised for $6,000, but only because at present the appraiser claimed the market to be "soft" due to prevailing economic conditions, and that given better economic conditions, it should appraise for $10,000, making this a marvelous investment opportunity. As times are tough, we are forced to sell this at the one-time reduced price of only $4,995, a discount of a full $1,000 off our previously reduced price, and a $5,000 dicount off our gallery price of $9,995.As are all our Native American antiques and artifacts, this item is guaranteed authentic. Authenticity Guaranteed: The winning bidder will have 21 days from the close of auction to arrange inspection by a qualified representative from a State (recognized) museum. Should such a representative provide deem this piece to be non-authentic during the 21 day window, we will accept the item back for a full refund minus shipping and handling costs, provided it is returned via insured shipping and in the same condition in which it was originally shipped, and that the buyer first coordinate the return by contacting the seller and supplying substantiating documentation from the aforementioned qualified representative. Otherwise, all sales are FINAL, and items will only be accepted for return if the buyer can substantiate it was grossly misrepresented in the listing. Free Shipping in the U.S. and Canada. Will ship insured at full value worldwide. Your browser does not support JavaScript. To view this page, enable JavaScript if it is disabled or upgrade your browser. Increase Sales by 18% and double your hits - Vendio Gallery Place a Bid!