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Southern Cheyenne Pipe Tomahawk w/ Beaded Drop

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:3,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Southern Cheyenne Pipe Tomahawk w/ Beaded Drop
The lot features a wonderful Southern Cheyenne pipe tomahawk from the third-quarter of the 19th Century accompanied with a beautifully beaded Buffalo hide drop. The spontoon-shaped head appears to be hand blacksmith forged and is an earlier style with kit-shaped blade with no curls or basal processes. The vase shape like bowl is forged from a gun barrel with cut rifling showing in the bowl itself and the blade forged from sheet iron with forge folding visible on the side. The ash wood haft handle is adorned with old brass tacks and has artful pewter inlays at the smoking tip. The head is secured to the haft with an old leather gasket. There are two strips of old Cheyenne beadwork wrapped onto the haft, a nice artful addition. The beaded drop is comprised of Indian brain-tanned Buffalo hide with wonderful American Indian art appeal showing a typical “bar” Cheyenne pattern in glass trade seed beads of the 19th Century. The drop has an old blue trade clothe backing. The beadwork is done in chalk white, cobalt, corn yellow, sky light blue, semi-transparent lilac, semi-transparent green. The tomahawk head has a nice dark patina and median ridge running down the blade. The haft has a dark patina and shiny finish with mellow patina’d brass tacks all from honest age and use. Provenance: From the ex-collection of Dale Harrison of Cincinnati, Ohio. The piece was sold in our April 2022 sale for $6,765, upon delivery the drop had separated from the tomahawk, and was professionally repaired. The head measures 9”L and the tomahawk totals 21.5”L with an additional 20”L beaded drop.