Fake Indian Arrow Quiver in Case
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APPRAISER:
The reason I picked this piece is because I've seen a lot of this kind of thing going around the country right now and they are not American Indian; they're made to sell. They've been making these for at least 15 years that I know of, maybe longer. What it's supposed to be is an arrow quiver, and the first thing that gives it away is if you look at the string along the edge, it appears to be animal sinew but in fact it's a real high-tech nylon, and it actually spreads a lot like sinew, and it's used a lot in making these reproductions. The second thing is the hide that's used on here is commercially tanned and not Indian tanned using brains and liver and so forth.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
The next thing that caught my attention are these little cones, these metal cones. They've been aged and patinated out with an artificial patina that's much older than the rest of the piece. The next thing is, the average quiver is a third, again, longer than this and sometimes longer than that because arrows were hard to make, so they were fully protected so the quiver would have been at least two-and-a-half to three feet long. Quivers had very wide straps because they had to be carried a long distance. So this little string would have dug into your shoulder and it would have a wide strap as opposed to this narrow one. And it would not have claws in the carrying strap. It would have been a very plain strap. I suspect it was made by a craftsman here in Texas. However, there is a catalog that comes out of the Upper Midwest that actually lists these different items for sale, and they're being sold right and left as authentic American Indian pieces. As a decorator item, especially with this beautiful case you've had made for it, it's worth a minimum of several hundred dollars, probably $350 up.
GUEST:
Okay.
Appraisal Details
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