Help with the age of this hand-painted moose antler

[capn]

Hi guys.
Had to have this when I saw it...just spoke to me. A real piece of Americana in my opinion.
Probably overpaid, but oh well!

Anyway, I am curious as to how old the painting might be. The seller sells very high end native american pieces and he said probably early 20th cent. (which I think I agree with) but I wanted your guys' thoughts.

Thanks!

The antler measures about 21x17"

Direct link to large closeup of the paint:
http://www.tonalist.com/images/g-indian_painted_horn4.jpg

[bigwull]

A Moose?..Never...........t his is a moose... .

[Rauville]

I would say it was a tourist item, sold at a roadside gift shop years ago. Probably hung out above someone's back door with that depiction of a Plains Indian chief weathering away. I'm guessing the age as to sometime after WWII.
Regardless, it's a nice piece.

[capn]

I would say it was a tourist item, sold at a roadside gift shop years ago. Probably hung out above someone's back door with that depiction of a Plains Indian chief weathering away. I'm guessing the age as to sometime after WWII.
Regardless, it's a nice piece.

I figured that's what it was for as well. I thought it might be a little earlier than that though.
Thanks!

[icedgold10]

If you add the age of the buck on to it, which I would think appropriate it is older then that.  They don't get ones that big over night.

[capn]

If you add the age of the buck on to it, which I would think appropriate it is older then that.  They don't get ones that big over night.

I actually thought it was pretty small for a moose antler 

[bigwull]

If you add the age of the buck on to it, which I would think appropriate it is older then that.  They don't get ones that big over night.

if the Moose was killed in say 1945, then removed and painted then the age of the beast has no relevance...

[capn]

Any other info/opinions on this piece?
I can't find any other similar antlers so I'm just trying to get as much info as possible.

(new to the antler market haha)

Thanks guys

[KC]

wullie, if you had of been the moose it would be relevant!  LOL

Believe this little puppy sold for $179 on Ebay just this past week!!!  Did you sell or buy it?

Popular items from 50's onward to proudly display in dens or above garages!  (Now they are referred to as Mancaves I believe!)

These are still popular today!  You can find them all over ebay!

[capn]

wullie, if you had of been the moose it would be relevant!  LOL

Believe this little puppy sold for $179 on Ebay just this past week!!!  Did you sell or buy it?

Popular items from 50's onward to proudly display in dens or above garages!  (Now they are referred to as Mancaves I believe!)

These are still popular today!  You can find them all over ebay!

Buyer

Could you link to a similar hand-painted antler? I have never seen one like this and can't find anything on ebay or google.
Anything I can find is fake and modern. And the age of the paint if you look at the super closeup just seems like it has to be pre-50s. But I could be wrong. That's why I'm asking the experts

The raw antlers themselves this size sell for about $150 and the painting to me was worth the little extra.

[mart]

 When I first looked at this I thought about Cleveland Indians,, and the Pontiac Chieftan !! I would say 40`s or 50`s on it !! Pic says the image was copied from something else,, then colored in !! An artist would have made a better use of the space !! Pic is too small for the size of the antler !! Basically this is just colored in the lines !! This appears to have been done with a water based paint,, not oils !!  Reason I say that is that water based paint just sits on the surface,,an oil would have absorbed into the antler somewhat,,I see no shadows where that happened !! Water based paint would have flaked off like yours did if not sealed afterward !! 

[capn]

When I first looked at this I thought about Cleveland Indians,, and the Pontiac Chieftan !! I would say 40`s or 50`s on it !! Pic says the image was copied from something else,, then colored in !! An artist would have made a better use of the space !! Pic is too small for the size of the antler !! Basically this is just colored in the lines !! This appears to have been done with a water based paint,, not oils !!  Reason I say that is that water based paint just sits on the surface,,an oil would have absorbed into the antler somewhat,,I see no shadows where that happened !! Water based paint would have flaked off like yours did if not sealed afterward !! 

Thanks Mart! That makes sense.
As for placement of the painting, the "bowl" of the horn is probably pretty hard to paint into as it isn't flat in the least bit, which is why I'm guessing this artist/person painted it on the flat part. But that doesn't mean it couldn't have been a copied image. These chief profiles were all over everything from the 30s-50s so it was probably directly inspired from another portrait.
Where the white on the Indian is it appears to be "engrained" in the antler, not on the surface. Not sure if that's because it just exposed the original color of the antler or what. But none of the paint has flakes or anything. Not sure what that means. Maybe whatever sunk in is left and the rest had flaked off over the years. I really like the remaining mark/patina that resulted though. That's what drew me to the piece.

I assumed it probably wasn't a skilled artist...but that's part of the reason I like it. It has that folk art/americana aspect that falls into the fascination with Native Americans that the country (and I) have always liked.

Thanks again!
Always nice getting your guys' feedback

[mart]

Whoever did it,, like you,, I like the folk art look of it !!  I have painted a lot of bleached out cow skulls but have yet to paint a moose antler !! Kind of hard to find them in Texas !!  LOL

[capn]

Whoever did it,, like you,, I like the folk art look of it !!  I have painted a lot of bleached out cow skulls but have yet to paint a moose antler !! Kind of hard to find them in Texas !!  LOL

Haha I can imagine!

[icedgold10]

Whoever did it,, like you,, I like the folk art look of it !!  I have painted a lot of bleached out cow skulls but have yet to paint a moose antler !! Kind of hard to find them in Texas !!  LOL

I can send you a bunch of moose.  One running around the intersection this morning during rush hour.  They don't move till they decide they want to.