Help with Female Native American Statue

[Facemeat]

I have a statue of a Native American woman that has befuddled me for years. It's about 12" tall, very heavy, made of some sort of metal, with a wooden base. I got it from my Grandfather, and to this day I simply cannot make out the name engraved on the statue. Here's what I can make out of the engraving (with dashes replacing letters I can't make out): "R.L. WE------ 77".


Does anyone know who might have made this statue and what it's worth, or, if not, what a statue of this type would normally be worth?

Thanks in advance!

[Facemeat]

I don't normally like to bump, but I'd really like to get some info on this. Even just a nudge in the right direction would help. 

[mart]

Sorry about that but some of these take a few days !! I have been looking for your artist but its difficult without knowing those other letters !!

[Facemeat]

Sorry about that but some of these take a few days !! I have been looking for your artist but its difficult without knowing those other letters !!

Thank you!

Yeah, finding the artist has definitely proven troublesome. My Father received a larger statue by the same artist when my Grandfather passed 10 years ago, and searched for prices, finding out that the larger one was worth several hundred dollars. I believe he sold it for around $500 some years ago, but he unfortunately never told me the name of the artist (or, if he did, I don't remember it; I was rather young at the time), so it's been a very difficult search.

[wendy177]

Could you post a better photo of the signature?

[Facemeat]

Could you post a better photo of the signature?

My camera's not very good, but I will try to take a clearer picture.

[Facemeat]

Alright, here are some clearer photos of the signature.

[sapphire]

Last name ends in 'ER' if that helps.

[mart]

I have looked through all american artists from 1800`s to present and have not found this person !!  I don`t guess you know where your father got these do you ?? Is there a foundry mark on it or anything on the bottom ??

[Facemeat]

I have looked through all american artists from 1800`s to present and have not found this person !!  I don`t guess you know where your father got these do you ?? Is there a foundry mark on it or anything on the bottom ??

Wow, thank you for the effort, I really appreciate it.

My Father's parents moved around so much due to my Grandfather being in the military, so I couldn't begin to tell you where this might have come from. For some reason I think the wooden base might have been a later addition, because it seems a bit "cheap" compared to the statue itself. There's fabric on the bottom of the wood, and no markings, but I have no clue if there might be markings on the bottom of the statue itself.

[sapphire]

In this picture, where I spotted the 'ER' in the name (above the second 7 in 77)........so I see an 'ILL' following that or are those just random shapes in the statue?

[Facemeat]

In this picture, where I spotted the 'ER' in the name (above the second 7 in 77)........so I see an 'ILL' following that or are those just random shapes in the statue?

Your guess is as good as mine...I've closely inspected the signature multiple times, and on certain spots it's almost impossible to tell what's a letter and what's just detailing on the statue itself. I do remember searching "wepperill", because that was the closest I could come to figuring it out, but I'm not sure that's even a real last name. 

[mart]

I have looked through every list of artists that I can think of, Native American Artists, Southwest Artists And general lists and checked out all that even remotely were close !!  More artists named Robert than you know !! But none matched up with the first initials or what we know of the last name !! Either we are not seeing something right or we are reading the letters wrong !!  I would suggest taking it to a gallery that specializes in southwest art and see if they can make the name out !! Pics are too big for me to enlarge the signature !!!

[KC]

Lets try something else...

Is the signature etched in (it appears so from the pics)

Do a rubbing!  Paper and pencil....see if that brings out anything....

[mart]

Checked another list this morning and found zip !!  In case he found it locally,, what area did your father live in ??  Northwest, southwest, central U.S.   Can check a few galleries that specialize in native southwest art !!