Native American Ceremonial Knife

[KittWulf]

As a knife enthusiast my SO gave me the most gorgeous hand carved knife I've ever had for my last birthday. It's obviously Native American in lore, and possibly is a ceremonial knife. From the carvings on the stag handle, it would appear to be a knife used by a Shaman from a tribe that has a Wolf Clan. It has turquoise, coral and onyx stones inlaid.

I've spent a lot of time online trying to track down its origins, but have found precious little. On the blade itself, though, it appears to be signed and dated thusly: TM (LO is small letters) 12089

One of the carvings is of a mountain, and there's a turquoise stone inlay, which would seem to indicate to me that it's supposed to represent Turquoise Mountain from the Four Corners region of the Southwest. The wolf headdress on the shaman's head would seem to indicate a Wolf Clan, as would the wolf head's carving on the reverse side. However, the claw carving with onyx inlay looks more like a bear's claw than a wolf's paw.

I've uploaded the photos provided by the seller on eBay to a webshots album. Any help in identifying this knife would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to track down the tribe, and any lore or mythology that went into its creation and carvings, and potential uses.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/alb ... 6621yplitn

Thanks much!
Kitt

[philco]

Hi KittWulf to AAPK

Glad to have you join us.

In my travels in the Southwest US, I have noted that many of the Native Amreican artisans sign their work only with initials. You might try contacting some of the tribal headquarters and see if they have a registry of their artist's signiture marks. Another possiblilty would be contacting one of the major Native American arts and crafts dealers/ distribuitors such as Foutz in New Mexico and see if they can advise you on how to identify the artist. I wish I could be of more help to you, but my knowledge in this arena is very limited.
I will say that whomever did the artwork on the handle is a very talented artist. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Phil