Carved moon face round box with 4 napkin? rings
Items in good condition. Trinket box has dent on one side. Rings have matching design but not exact. Round box and rings are not perfectly symmetrical. Designs I believe are hand carved. Bulk material I think to be either silver or pewter, I am not sure what the stone inlays are made of. I cannot see any specific mark of who made the items. These were items that belonged to my grandmother who was St'uminus First Nation and were given to me when she passed due to my personal sentimental value. But I do not believe they are specifically St'uminus Art. I do not how or when she acquired them. They do need a cleaning but I have not done so since I don’t know the material and do not want to damage them. (I have no specific desire to sell the items, well unless they will buy me a house outright cause I think she would haunt me if I didn’t, lol)
Box 3.25 inch, 4 (napkin?) rings 1.5 inch
Inherited
Yes
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
St’úmin̓us and other Coast Salish peoples did not practice metallurgy such as smelting, casting, or forging. Their material culture focused on wood, stone, bone, antler, shell, plant fibers, and copper obtained through trade. Native copper (naturally occurring copper) was known and highly valued along the Northwest Coast, but it was worked cold (hammered, bent), not smelted.
Iron, brass and steel became available through trading with Europeans in the 18th and 19th Century and the decorative elements borrow loosely from broader native Northwest Coast-inspired aesthetics.
These look to me like pewter as you suspected; it is an alloy that's mainly tin, with smaller trace amounts of copper, antimony and sometimes bismuth and lead (so not always safe to eat from in the form of tankards or other drinking vessels, or plates). It's comparatively soft and easy to work, making such objects easy to craft.
I can't tell what the inset stones are - you can probably take these to your local jeweler for them to examine under a loupe (small magnifier used by jewelers and other appraisers).
I strongly suspect that these were made for the export/tourist trade for visitors to the Northwest who wanted a souvenir of the visit; they don't hold much value in the current market - maybe $100 or $150 at most though if the inset stones turn out to be valuable that would change things - so you can safely keep them without risking being haunted by your grandmother for selling them.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A group of Northwest Coast Native hardstone inset pewter articles
20th Century
comprising a covered circular box with inscribed moon design (3-1/4 inches diameter) with four rings, probably for napkins (1-1/2 inches diameter).
CONDITION: Good, with a nice patina
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$ 100-150 together*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
