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Message:: [QUOTE="Bronwen, post: 289906, member: 5833"]The Chinese have been making beautiful fakes of their own antiquities & the handcrafted work characteristic of other cultures for a very, very long time.  Before I became consumed with cameos, I was in love with the Zuni carvings loosely referred to as fetishes.  Learned that at the large mineral & rock show/sales events, the Chinese have been selling attractive, impeccably done carved stone pieces that look Native American, with prices that are so attractive one Zuni carver who was never very good & who had an alcohol problem began to buy them, sign them, & pass them off as his own. Most of the netsuke & ojime I see being offered on eBay described as antique Japanese & - you know it must be genuine because - it's signed!  Keep sending these sellers numbers for items that look just like their $250 one being offered for $15.99 with free shipping.  They really are hand carved, they really do copy the best of the Japanese work, they are signed with the names of famous Japanese carvers, & they are cranked out by the shipping container load in China. Since these postings become a repository for the collective knowledge of the community & become a reference resource for others, I am adding these 2 (sorry, not very good) photos of a Native American bobcat carved in walrus tusk. [ATTACH]93748[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]93749[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]