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“Virginian” Cigar Store Indian

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Tobacciana Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:12,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD
“Virginian” Cigar Store Indian
“Virginian Cigar Store Indian. In the American colonies, tobacco shops used figures such as this one as trade signs near the front door. Known as a “Virginian,” because of his distinctive African facial features, this style of figure remained in use in the United States until the middle part of the 19th Century. This figure measures 38 ½" high. It is carved of what appears to be elm with a metal tobacco leaf headdress and quiver. He has a bow in his right hand and an arrow in his left hand. He is wearing a decorative fluted tunic of applied metal which is probably zinc. It is one of the rarest and most sought after folk art figures you will ever find.