Auction details
9:00 AM PT - Feb 20th, 2012
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Native American Plains Indian War Club with rare and desirable quartz head, 19th C. This is a very fine example of the Plains Indian style war club, with a translucent quartz head that is quite long and sharp on both ends. The handle is covered in leather, pigment decorated and has a hole that can be used with a wrist cord attached for retaining the weapon during use. One of the best examples of this club.
Size: 35.5" H X 7.5" W X 2" D Weight: 8 lbs Condition: very good original condition This plains Indian war club represents one of three basic types of plains stone-headed war clubs. The stone heads have, in varying degrees, a double pointed shape that was produced by pecking and grinding a creek or river pebble into the desired shape. They were then hafted by a rawhide strap wrapped around the center of both grooved and ungrooved stones. The handles were also covered in leather. Most of these clubs have long handles and they were probably used to fight on horseback. The earliest war clubs had stone heads with short handles and were carried on foot. After the introduction of the horse the handles were lengthened. The longer handle gave the weapon a longer reach. A short handled club had less of an advantage on the battlefield if the attacker was mounted on horseback and could strike from farther away. The larger weapon was easier to carry on horseback. They were carried under his belt or, when fitted with a wrist strap, hung from a saddle. Stones for clubs were carefully selected. People making the clubs were choosing stones that do not break easily, like quartz and granite. Many club heads were also made from colorful stones. Creek and river beds were a common source for ready-made smooth surface stones. Club heads generally weigh between two to eight pounds. Some club heads were carefully shaped by pecking and grinding. The surfaces were pecked into shape with a hammerstone then smoothed by grinding the surface with another stone. Other club heads did not receive as much attention. These more simpler examples were made of natural pebbles that were only slightly altered by pecking a narrow groove around the center that held the rawhide hafting material into place. Still other club head stones were simply covered entirely in rawhide. They had little or no alteration to their natural form. Most clubs were made for warfare. They were used in hand-to-hand combat on the ground and from the backs of horses. They were objects of pride. It's said that some war clubs were treated with great reverence by their owners. The degree of craftsmanship, as seen in many fine examples in modern day collections, reflect these ideas. The horse culture tribes of the western plains were once invincible over their prairie domain. The plains Indian war club was a formidable weapon but, as a Stone Age tool, it was almost worthless in modern warfare. Condition reportvery good original condition
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