Ancient Artifacts & Antiquities
Lot 489:
Stalactite Frog Stone (birdstone) made by Billy Guthrie Mid 20th century
Stalactite Frog Stone (birdstone) made by Billy Guthrie Mid 20th century. A very nicely made translucent piece. We believe the stone is stalactite but could be some other quartz/chalcedony type of stone. A nice example of Billy’s work. Billy made a good number of birstones throughout his life. We see them scattered in collections, books and on display here and there at shows. Native Americans did make a few of these which is where modern makers originally got the idea for their version of the birdstone. It is hard to say that this is modern now because it could go back as far as the 1940’s or perhaps as far back as the late 1800’s (if it was one of the guys that taught/inspired Billy and he copied their work) when there were makers put to work by relic dealers capitalizing on a crazed European Market (that was info from Billy who knew makers from before his time). So although we do tend to use modern on pieces made like this there does come a point where they become vintage, historic or antique. Fun to look at and hold and always an eye catcher on the shelf this is a work of art from a very attractive stone. This piece likely took Billy a few days to complete and was one he done after mastering the making of birdstones. Billy lived from 1929 to 2006 and was considered the best of stone workers in the country over the last 100 years. In the 1980’s a piece like this from Billy would have cost several hundred dollars and he was always sold out to various deceased and a hand full of artifact dealers still alive today. Measures 2 1/8" tall and almost 3" diameter.
Condition: Modern
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