Bear Thompson - fake or not?

Hey Steve....It's not the photo's....it's the time it takes collecting them !!

Thanks though.

I have several that are shocking ....but for now , here's one relating to your new posts.

What about that whalebone ?? Eh !

 

Maybe (I'm hoping) some buyers will pick up on this thread and contact one of you fellows about their purchase.

It's happening as you speak !!

 

Maybe they are Zuni:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161854982914?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Or maybe they are a Cherokee shaman's medicine knife:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131603029245?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Whalebone! Yikes.

I need to get a life, or go to bed, or - wait, I forgot to eat dinner.

 

I am one of the buyers of a Bear mask and I'm quite happy with it and disagree its fake. I was contacted by one of your members, and think you are a seller who has an interest in badmouthing others!

 

Please show us photo's of your new purchase.

 

Please show me some of your 1700 masks

 

I have 1700 photo's....& while I've bought some of the fakes to have a hands on look at them I've only kept one mask , & a totem pole, for study purpose.

Why would I want 1700 fake masks.............

 

And I have masks that are not fakes also

 

Well If one of them is signed Bear Thompson.....I suggest you re-read this entire thread for the comments posted by everyone....

 

I see most of the responses posted by you, and you have some vested interest in bad mouthing a competitor. Of course non of yours are fakes, but I'd love to prove provenance on all 1700 masks. Al

 

Also, does ebay know u are inciting others to contact other buyers like me. I felt that was beyond what anyone should listen to. You seem like a angry man

 

Also let me suggest that-all fakes- may actually be komokwa as that's who wrote the ebay "advice" on recognizing fakes

 

Just an FYI, Ebay has no control over what people say here.

 

Also let me suggest that-all fakes- may actually be komokwa as that's who wrote the ebay "advice" on recognizing fakes

We have both written ebay advice on recognizing fakes. (three guides for Komokwa, 12 for me, though more people have viewed his than mine.)

I can't think of any easy way to prove that we are different people, any more than I can think of a way for you to prove that you are not one of the sellers of fakes, rather than an actual buyer.

And Komokwa is referring to the number of pictures of fakes he has accumulated, not the number of fakes.

Show us your mask, calm down, and engage in an adult conversation about how to tell whether it is fake or not. Many collectors have been fooled by fakes; it is often part of the learning process, and it is no disgrace to learn that way. But you can't learn anything if you are not willing to have an open mind about the possibility of fakery.

 

That would have been a good answer, but I'm not sure treg is still here.
I just learned that one can use the members section to check on what Google robots and other guests have been viewing. Interesting.

I've been fighting fakes for a long time, as has Komokwa; in fact I originally came to the ebay T&S board seeking possible ways to combat the proliferation of fakes (yes, I'm a T&S refugee). A wise member named Azlynn (anybody remember Azlynn?) advised me that there was almost nothing that could be done, and that it was not worth endangering one's own good name in order to fight the evil tide. One should always behave with honor.

But over the years I know both Komokwa and myself have been accused of "badmouthing," "vested interest," being an "angry man," or being the same person. Mostly it has been sellers of fakes making those comments....

So c'mon, treg, show us your mask. Let's talk like adults.

And isn't the post "And I have masks that are not fakes also" an admission that you have some doubts?

 

At first that's what threw me because it's next to impossible to contact BUYERS on eBay.
But....there was a SELLER I'd just contacted to tell them about what they were selling.....& unfortunatly as sometimes happens ..it didn't go well.

I may not have been as smooth as I like to be ....but I certainly wasn't badmouthing any one person in particular, nor was I rude or vulgar.

As you'll see......

From: komokwa
To: pnosaj1969
Subject: Other: komokwa sent a message about Awesome Northwest Coast Carved Wood Mask-1960s-Haida?Tlingit?Alaska?First Nation #181895166589
Sent Date: 07-Oct-15 01:10:09 EDT
Dear pnosaj1969,

it's Indonesian , and scuffed up on purpose to make it look old.
The really sad part is that when it gets here someone is putting cedar bark on it's head to fool buyers.

I believe there's an ebay guide that explains there's no one by the name of whomever signed the mask !!
- komokwa

Her REPLY....

Dear komokwa,

I believe there's also an eBay guide that tells you what constitutes harassing behavior.

- pnosaj1969

I was a little upset......so....

Dear pnosaj1969,

I wrote to help you understand that what you're selling is not what you think it is , & you seem to think that constitutes harassment .

I have done nothing to interfere with your auction nor did I suggest , threaten or demand that you change it in any way.

If you believe you are being harassed then contact eBay & show them these emails.

As for actual harassment...................you're not worth my time !
- komokwa


Her REPLY....
Dear komokwa,

The anonymous email expert strikes again! Looks like you think I AM worth your time, you you have now sent me two unsolicited messages. Have a nice weekend! --J

- pnosaj1969

So , I musta hit a nerve.....but figured that was the end of it.

Little did I expect a new member to show up here .....just to attack me and continue that smug unfounded vitriol .....against me ....& friends !

The perils of being Komokwa & not hiding behind a different name on this site, has attracted a misguided stalker , who not only has called my reputation into question with falsehoods & innuendo, but that of another as well !

I apologize to Steve, as well as any member who has looked in on this thread only to find a disruptive disgruntled voice disturbing what was otherwise an informative educational lively interaction.

Komo

PS . Thank you Irene .....in the final analysis ..you're why I do what I do....& I'm only sorry I couldn't help you sooner !

 

No apology needed. I have a very thick skin. I do use a posting ID, and kept it here, but it is not hard to figure out my buying/selling ID.
I chose the all-fakes name years ago, when I was seriously thinking of doing some malicious bidding, back when ebay posted buyers' names in full; thinking how some seller would feel to have his item bought by someone with an ID like mine.....but I took the advice of wiser heads: that the high road is always the best road, and I have never ever engaged in any kind of auction interference. I have, like Komo, sometimes tried to provide information to sellers (always under my real ID) in hopes they were confused, or honestly mistaken; often an honest seller is happy to learn they have been mistaken about the nature of their item.

Amusing, the mention of "anonymous email expert" when what we have seen is a seller pretending to be a buyer in order to endorse their own item.

Too bad she wasn't here long enough to talk honestly, maybe we could have convinced her, and then found out where these B.T. fakes are coming from. Indonesia, yes....but who the heck is adding the cedar-bark, then distributing them to multiple sellers, in these quantities? It is a mystery.

Komo, I'm very sorry you have acquired a stalker.....it is at least partly my fault for discussing in public what I know can be embarrassing to some sellers......but I don't have a lot of respect for the sellers of multiple fakes. By definition, they are dealers in fake items, and that is not an honorable thing.

And PS to Irene, you are a true Lady, in the best sense of the word, and I am honored to have you as part of our community.

 

But to continue.....on ebay we also see sellers who are just mistaken; but sometimes they do a bit of internet searching, decide that their item is Native, and heap on all kinds of quotes about what it is, and such. Like the seller of the Eskimo artifacts mentioned earlier, those superlatives do not add any authenticity; often the contrary.
Check out http://www.ebay.com/itm/272012317213?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


$1,500? or $5,700 for BIN? This is by no stretch of the imagination NW Coast native, or a sisiutl, or a soul-catcher.
My guess would be Thailand, but I'm often better at knowing what something is not, than what it is, for non-native items.
One sometimes-overlooked fact is that internet searches are generally most useful when you know what something is, and want to learn about it. But if you don't know what it is, or have jumped to conclusions, the internet will often lead one seriously astray.