Philip Thorn

This is my first post. I am hoping to get some information about what appears to be a wood carving of a profile of a native bird mask.
I say "appears" above because I read in an older thread on this site that Philip Thorn is just a studio name that produced products that are cast to look like wood but are not actually carvings. The thread also suggested that bit can be hard to distinguish from wood.
I must say that if that is a cast product the casting is of rather remarkable quality and it must be applied over a wood backing or cast from some that mimics wood very well because when I drilled a small hole in the back it appears very much to be made of wood (cedar would be my guess). It feels like wood. It sounds like wood. It looks like wood.
Can anyone shed some light of whether it is possible that this is actually carved wood. If it is not wood for sure can anyone provide any detail about the casting process/materials used.
The piece is signed "Philip Thorn /71". It has an applied plaque made of wood on the back with a paper label that is titled "#752 Hamatsa Bird-Monster -Kwakiutl Indian Tribe". The label goes on to give some details about the use of Crooked Beak bird monster mask during potlach dances. The label is marked "Thorn Arts, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada".
The colours used are not bright (green, black, brown, dark purple). The center of the eye of the bird seems to be made from a piece of a shell.
Any insight anyone can provide on this is much appreciated.

 

Welcome Arthur. I will tag some knowledgeable members for you, @komokwa , @all_fakes .

In the meantime, could you post some photos?
Here is info on how to upload pictures, please remember to click on 'full image' when you post:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/


Posting images from your phone:

iPhone:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/resizing-photos-on-i-phone.35097/

Android phone:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/using-an-android-phone-for-pics-on-antiquers.41709/

 

Thanks. I did try to attach a picture but had issues uploading it. File size was too large I expect. I will try again later. Was too nice this afternoon to stay indoors on the computer.

 

See pics

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/hamatsa-mask-northwest-pacific-coast-495199390

"cast from some that mimics wood"

yes, indeed........

Many of the NWC resin sculptures are molded from wood carvings , and made to simulate wood.........which they are not ...but easily fool the average buyer.

@all_fakes ....... knows about these..

 

Could be a sawdust composite.

 

Thanks all for your input. This has been helpful and educational. I am going to dig in to the resin casting details a bit more to satisfy my curiosity as I am surprised at how good the impression is that the plaque is carved from wood.

 

looks like it could be wood......but it's not..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thorn-Arts...a-Folk-Art-Wall-Hanging-Decor-8-/283749159024


not this , either.....

 

As mentioned, and in the other thread, the Thorn company made cast items in a variety of materials; none are actual wood. Just as a vehicle with the logo "Ford Motor Company" is not a Rolls-Royce.
One of the signs that this is a casting: look at the dimpled appearance of the back; this is intended to give an impression of wood grain. But with a bit of experience working with wood, one should realize that this kind of surface would be very very hard to produce in actual wood. I suppose one could take a flat piece of wood, and then use a small gouge to make all the dimples....but no wood carver, native or not, would ever do that. In short, a glance at the back reveals that this is fake wood grain, not the real grain of real wood.
In wood, grain is a striated pattern showing a difference in color and porosity; imitation wood does not have either, and uses texture to imitate those qualities.
But this is a casting I've seen many times, and the existence of multiple identical copies is in itself proof that an item is not a one-of-a-kind original wood carving.

 

That's the whole idea...to make them look like wood.......

 

I took a small gouge and removed a chip from the back. You can seen clearly the resin structure. Looks like a dense foam insulation. Thanks again for the tips. It came to me at an auction in a lot with a large decorative Japanese fan. It was identified as a "carving" but both it and the fan looked like decent tourist souvenirs not fine art and the $40 price suggested the same.

 

Looks like a dense foam insulation......

likely with bubbles and all !
I had a model Totem Pole made of that.....on the base...they did such a fine mold...that the screw that held the base to the totem....was there in the base...and it looked like you could really screw it out.........

 

at least with the label on , there's no question...