Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art (171)

This limestone cement image of Quetzalcoatl was found by the famous Dr. Allen Heflin in September of 1954 and is so inscribed on the bottom. It still has its original obsidian eyes. It is 4" long. It is badly weathered, but the features are easily recognizable although the camera did not pick them up fully. It dates to 100BC-200AD. This is an extremely rare piece. I have not seen another.

This stunning pure gold necklace is from the El Bolo treasure, 200BC-200AD. It was found by treasure hunters who struck a deal with the Colombian government, the Bank of Colombia and the local peasants whereby the treasure was divided up. The Royal Family of Saudi Arabia purchased many of the pieces including full body suits. Artifacts from this treasure can be readily identified by the extreme purity of the gold which is 23K-24K. The Bank of Colombia among other items had 8 gold necklaces...

This petrified wood tang knife is from the four-corners area of the southwest. It is 3 1/4" long. It is from the Wallis-Thomas collection. The base of the tang has been snapped off anciently, but does not detract.

Of the over 10,000 artifacts that the late world famous Dr. Allen Heflin found, this little miniature hand-molded ceramic female figurine ranks among the rarest. It is from the unattributed Preclassic Period, C1200-900BC. It is a mere 1 1/2" long and in superb condition except for a small ding on the front headdress and small dings to both back feet. It still has significant traces of red and white pigment. Heflin found this little treasure in Cuautitlan, Mexico and is so noted on the back...

This is an extremely rare Carthaginian glass head pendant, circa 5th-4th century B.C. It is 1 1/2 inches long. This is a Mediterranean core-formed glass bead. It is intact, in perfect condition with no repair or restoration. The patina on it is beautiful. Please view my youtube video on this item at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsF5COeUByw.

This fabulous carved tablet has been attributed to the Chavin culture, Peru and has been dated to 600BC-300BC. It depicts in shallow relief an anthropomorphic zoomorphic figure squatting upon a double bar. Exotic birds, snakes, saurian beasts and fantastical creatures are depicted in a transformational environment. The entire design is bi-symmetrical. Two pairs of holes have been drilled 1/5th from the top of the tablet...

These 16 bone pendants were found together in Smythe County, Virginia on a Hopewell site. They are all identical in form. They are all drilled from the top at an angle. Average size is 1". They are made from squirrel shoulder blades. They have excellent patina and are all very solid. This is a very rare and unusual assemblage. They are ex Tom Davis. The name of the finder goes to the buyer.

This extraordinarily rare Olmec necklace has 57 beads all made from Imperial green true jadeite. All are highly translucent except 4 small beads. It measures 30" when strung open from end to end. It has been restrung in modern times. I have never seen nor heard of pre-Columbian imperial jadeite of this quality. There is only one other imperial jadeite necklace that is in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia museum. Please e-mail me for a photo of that necklace...

I purchased this unique antler wedge or chisel from Jim Bennett. It has fabulous patina and is scored/grooved on the sides. It is 5 3/8" and was found near Wakemap Mound on the long narrows of the Columbia River, Oregon in the 1950's by Charlie Mitchell. A very rare and unique piece.

This beautiful Olmec maskette is 36mm long and 27mm wide. It is made from transparent high grade flawless quartz with very high energy. It has a very solid hole at the top center making it perfect to add a gold loop for everyday wear as a pendant. It is nicely scooped in the back. There are two things that make this piece extremely rare and desirable. The first is the size. In 40 years of collecting, I have seen only two authentic Olmec maskettes that are this small...

This Tunjo is 5 1/2" long. Tunjos are from the Musica culture, 900AD-1500AD. This culture inhabited the high plateau in the area of modern Bogota. Most Tunjos that survived are made from gold or tumbaga. Obviously, many were made from bone, but being an organic material, very few bone ones have survived. In fact, this is the only one I have ever seen. I have had several gold Tunjos and they are unique and beautiful and in much demand. Needless to say, bone Tunjos are extremely rare.

This extraordinarily rare Olmec Jade dagger or possible bloodletter was found together with the below quartz dagger, This piece is 4 1/2" long. The little Olmec man on the top is only 1 1/4". You can imagine the amount of work that went into creating and carving this miniature little man using only abrasion. Sculptures such as these are every much of a marvel as the great Olmec heads and the intricate Mayan temple carvings. This is truly a masterpiece in miniature...

This incredible authentic Olmec true water blue translucent jadeite spoon, used to ingest hallucinogenic substances, is in the effigy of a jaguar tooth with an engraving showing the gum line. It has two holes drilled for suspension. The tooth is just shy of 2 1/2" and 1/2" wide. The material has specific gravity tested to be true jadeite. The blue color is evenly dispersed throughout the piece, extremely fine grained and it is the highest quality imperial blue jadeite I have ever seen...

This unique extraordinarily rare maskette is made from translucent polished woolly mammoth bone with tremendous character...

I have seen and collected many bird celts and axe-gods over the years. This one ranks near the top for the type. The quality of the carving is extraordinary and the jade material is wonderfully colorful. It is 3 5/8" long. It is from the Las Mercedes, Linea Vieja area. The blade is narrowed as well as deeply cut back at the waistline. The eyes are marked by drill pits set in a broad groove. A pair of knobs on the head resemble the local great horned owl. The beak is deeply carved and well define...

This Mayan bone carving is unique in that it has a Mayan glyph carved on the back which translates to "Old God". It is 2 1/4" long. The carving is very well done and has extremely rare iconography. As rare as it gets. A museum quality piece. Purchased from Keith Finello.

I purchased these four Hayes points from Tom Davis in the 1990's. They are from the Mississippian period and were found in SW Arkansas. Tom was selling them for Ken Partain and they are pictured in Prehistoric Antiquities of which I have the original publication. Tom sent me 79 Hayes points. I cherry picked the top four. All Hayes points are extremely rare and most on the market are fake according to one of top area authenticators. The crystal point is micro-chipped and is the finest workmanship...

This is an extremely rare Paleo Folsom made from a dark gray, translucent flint. It is 1 11/16" by 13/16". Both faces are fluted to the tip. The basal edge is concave and the haft is ground most of the way up the blade edges. It has classic Folsom edge work. Nice natural patina with good deposits and authentic accumulations noted. It was found in the early 60's. It is from the west Texas, Oklahoma, eastern New Mexico area. It is ex-Mike Oliver collection. This is priced way below market value....