I was watching a repeat of Antiques Road Show yesterday and a man had a stone oil lamp carved to look like a seal head in water. Turned over it burned the oil. The expert stated it was authentic and very old but how old he was not sure. The man said his father found it among rocks after WWII in an area of Alaska. He saw it and noted something different about this "rock." In the area my stepfather grew up near the coast north of Santa Cruz California, we would visit some people my stepfather knew growing up. In a cabinet of their home they had Native American mortar and pestles they had found on their extensive property. I was just a kid and at the time and had no idea what I was touching. I don't know what became of these items. Their ranch was sold to a well off logging company family when the two widowed sisters were the only ones living with the stipulation they would live their lives there. When the last sister was still alive they had care takers living there with her. A friend went to see her and noted some items missing form the home. He returned with his brother, probably packing, and they took items from the house and gave them to the Santa Cruz Library which I remember would have interesting rotating displays. I remember hearing this from my stepfather. At the time one of his brothers still lived out in that area and he still knew many people there. I don't know but if I were this man on the Antiques show, I would want a way to return the item to the Native People of Alaska. It belongs to them. I understand it had sentimental value as his dad found it but in reality his dad rescued the item. Had he never found it, it could have been lost as just another rock forever. Thoughts? Sorry went a little long.
Yes it could have been lost forever - therefore I would say if it were me, I would cherish the find If there was a way to contact the people, I would certainly tell them of the find and if they wanted the item, I would give it but I would want a piece of turquoise jewellery in return
When I was a kid, there was a lake a few miles from our house that we knew as Mud Lake, although I think its actual name was Hanson Lake. People seldom went there because, as it's nickname implies, it was all swampy and muddy, so you couldn't get to the lake without going through a lot of guck. We went there sometimes though, and found quite a few Indian arrowheads, some lying directly on the ground, and others that could be found by doing a little bit of scraping. They were clearly arrowheads, and in pretty good shape. I found another stone that my dad said had been a hatchet head, but that one wasn't so clearly defined. As far as I know, nothing has ever been developed around that lake so there are probably still artifacts there.
Etsy or E bay. I recently got an incredible large turquoise ring at an antique shop. It was under 30 dollars because the band was all messed up and broke. I took it to a shop in town that does custom work and they charged 65 dollars for the repair and made just to my size. I just love that ring. The stone is amazing.
Ken, do you still have the items? I know many arrow heads have been found and people keep them. The reason I mentioned that this oil lamp should be returned is because it was stated to be quite rare by the Antique show appraiser.
Oh no, like everything else when I was a kid, we played with them and eventually lost them. We fastened them onto our own homemade arrows and used them.
I remember finding arrowheads in South Carolina and Georgia when I was a kid. Of course we did not hang on to these things as we did not really understand their historical "value" at that time.