Bear Thompson - fake or not?

Ha ! It's all good Steve....what was that you said....No apology needed !

You're right though, it would have been nice to put her feet to the flame and get a better lead on who's putting that cedar bark on the new crop of Bali masks !!

That's a real nasty thing to do !!!

 

Ya, I saw that bowl but since like you, I couldn't pin it down....I left that seller alone..........as I do a lot lately !
Notice the carved face in the upper right of your pic.......That's telling right there !!!

I got one for ya......
commin up....

 

Another example of how internet research can mislead is the seller of a totempole signed K, who decided it must be by Kevin Cranmer, because it looks "just like his work."
That is like saying "it is a vase, so it must be Tiffany."

There are better ways to sell something one is not sure of; and for Native American items (though Cranmer is not American) it is illegal to even suggest that an item "might" be native-made, though that part of the law is often overlooked. This seller has two poles by this maker, with whom I am not familiar; here's one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KEVIN-CRANM...C-NORTHWEST-/301767203686?hash=item4642ba1b66

 

"Notice the carved face"
yes, I did notice that, and thought exactly the same as you!

"who's putting that cedar bark on the new crop of Bali masks !!
That's a real nasty thing to do !!!"

Yes; the original Indonesians who make the items are just honest third-world craftsmen, and they earn a pittance. The importers, well, they are importers, it is their business to import...though some are providing photos of original native art for the craftsmen to use, and that is not good.
But there are honest sellers of the items, on and off ebay, who specify that the item is Indonesian made; though I wish the fakes were not in circulation at all, at least those sellers are not telling lies.
But to add genuine cedar, in order to deceive, that is very low, and is a criminal act under US law.

 

This guy won't take no for an answer....& accused me of being some kinda Eastern expert creep.....looking to screw him over ..!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NORTHWEST-C...-VESSEL-POT-/231710178186?hash=item35f300bb8a

 

That's cuz we're in the ZONE dude !!!

That pole is at best ...williams family style straight edge carved.....ugly....and yes....not by any cranmer..!

 

I tried so hard to show the guy his bucket is a hornbill bird carving...but no !

 

"williams family style" yes, at best, and not a good example of that style, bad enough that I would not offer an opinion as to whether it is really Nu-chah-nulth or just something some hobbyist put together in their basement.

So, what is that vessel thing? Not NW, for sure. Scandinavian? Dutch? It is out of my areas of knowledge.

 

PS, my middle daughter works in a zoo; here's a baby hornbill she recently acquired for them.



So I guess if the bucket is a hornbill, which it certainly seems to be, it is not Scandinavian.....

 

Hi Guys,
Been there, had a "person" attack me also, which drove me off eBay to here. I feel your pain but CONGRATULATE you both for sticking to your guns so to say. Keep up the good work.
greg

 

I believe this scoop-like item is one of those Chinese "manufactured antiques" designed for the decorator market.

I've frequently seen them in Asian booths at flea markets, and also advertised on line, as "Antique Chinese Goose Neck Wood Baby's Bath" http://www.accessorypreview.com/asian-1/ (scroll half-way down the page to see this exact item.)

I gave this information to the seller when he first listed it, thinking he may have been deceived when he purchased it, and would want to get his money back, and the web site might be useful. He responded with a nasty letter, similar to what you received. Since then he continues to relist it.

 

Well done all_fakes, komokwa and taupou for taking the time to try and enlighten sellers and us, it is appreciated

 

Great info, Taupou, thanks. It has indeed just been relisted; I've seen oystercatchers, and it sure isn't one. I'm not at all surprised to hear it is a "manufactured antique."

 

Thanks for the support, cx. It is not my story to tell, but I've heard that there has been at least one very gratifying outcome based on some of the information given here.

 

Taupou....I feel your pain !

Greg.....and yours too !!

Like Steve said , it's sometimes easier to say what something is not....when you know it's not....but like I say " no one likes to be told that what they have is not what they think they have ! "

Still, all we want is to help, & as I've found , the honest sellers really do want the news, even if it's bad news.....even if they don't believe you at first....all the rest...think we have an agenda to screw with them...and lash out !!

I've been paying that price for many years......because when folks like Irene thank you ....it makes it all worthwhile to know you've helped someone !!!

 

He's been re-listing it for weeks now....as the price drops too !

 

"Taupou....I feel your pain !
Greg.....and yours too !!"
"when folks like Irene thank you ....it makes it all worthwhile."
Yes indeed.

 

so.....I got a phone call this morning.....a robo call that left a message .....something to do about "allegations made against me ", and I should return the call and not ignore it.

I've never heard of this kind of call, and it was very hard to make out what they were saying....only that I detected a kind of southern US accent .

Anyone heard of these , or received one ???

I have a sneaking suspicion where it came from.......

 

One of my best stories about relisting is a seller some years back who listed 4-5 masks honestly, as carved in Indonesia - they were about the best I've ever seen, not your ordinary Bali fakes. I'll have to find some of the pics.
But when they didn't sell, he relisted the same exact items with the same pics as genuine Native work, saying he'd got them from "an old estate."
I went to the IACB with that one, and since it was a time when the IACB was very actively putting pressure on ebay, there were some results.
That's my beef with ebay, not that they can't recognize fakes, because I don't expect them to; but that they almost never enforce their own rules. Many fake-sellers list very carefully, without any obvious rule-violation; but when a listing does blatantly violate the rules and it is reported, one might expect something. But no.

 

I've had robocalls that the FBI or IRS was about to file charges, and I should call; don't know if yours was one of those, or related to ebay.

I'm not sure what I would advise, but I don't believe that anything official would arrive via robocall......found this online related to the fake IRS calls:
http://www.freep.com/story/money/pe...ers-lawsuit-tax-season-susan-tompor/20872587/