Thoughts on NWC tourist carvings

So these aren't priceless works of art, I know. But they still have some charm. I see them pretty frequently and if they're cheap, I get them. I usually resell them and make a few bucks. But I'm recently wondering if maybe they're the kind of thing to put in a box, save for some years and see if maybe they don't grow perhaps quite a bit more collectible.

Any all thoughts on these cedar tourist carvings are welcome.

Thank you!

 

the one on the right is the only one I'd save...
for two reasons...
the fresh label......
there is at least a minor amount of skill present..

oh...& yer wings are upside down.....

 

I thought too- but they're set in a notch, so I left them as-is... ???

 

don't.....

 

The notch looks straight edged, so technically the wings could go either way. But I agree, they are now upside down. The heads on those wings look a bit dizzying, with the mouths up and the eyes below.

 

Warning in a recent news report. 2 men approached waterfront galleries in Seattle, claiming to be of Native American ancestry and wanting to sell art works in the NW coast style to the gallery owner. Turns out they have no connection to to any NWC tribe. The gallery owner was very embarrassed at not having been more insistent in his conversation with these guys since there really is not a way to get "proof" of ethnicity.

 

He could have asked them to prove tribal membership, which seems a bit embarassing though. Beyond that, knowing a person's ethnicity is difficult.
In and around Vancouver I even had Native Americans ask me which tribe I was a member of. Even when I explained that I wasn't NA, some of them looked at me as if they tried to say "are you sure?".

 

That happened to one of our students on a field trip to the SW. She was from Malaysia. She kept being asked which tribe she belonged to. The Navajo thought she looked Pueblo, and the Pueblo thought she looked Navajo. Just shows there is something to that land bridge from Asia idea......

I have very fond memories of Ye Olde Curiosity Shop - my favorite place as a child, much to Mother's dismay.

 

they are lightning snakes associated with a thunderbird.....
& the notch matches the straight line of the wings when they are placed correctly ...

soooooo....technically.......the wings and their design.....only go one way !!

 

On the original question, I'd agree - if you can make a profit that is great; but for little totems of this quality I don't think it is worth saving them in hopes of a later larger profit.
The Olde Curiosity Shop label does add some value and interest; and yes the wings are upside-down; probably got loose at some point and were reattached wrong. Might be better to just leave them than to risk them cracking during removal though.