Native American, Southwestern United States, Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan), ca. 1075 to 1250 CE. A lovely stone fleshing tool used to remove skin and hide from animals. The tool has a wide handle, gradually expanding peripheries, and slightly angled blade faces with a smooth edge, all presented with an incredibly smooth surface texture. Fleshers like this example were utilized to gently remove the hide from large animals to keep the whole skin intact and not to tear or puncture the material. Modern Riker box included. Size (flesher): 5.875" L x 2.55" W (14.9 cm x 6.5 cm); (Riker box): 8.25" L x 6.25" W (21 cm x 15.9 cm)
Provenance: private South Carolina, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA, September 5th, 2019, lot 156; ex-Joan Shaw collection, bought in 1971; loaned to the Mesa Verde Museum, Mesa Verde, Colorado, USA, accession number 591, catalogue number 8538, 1962 to 1970; ex-Bill Mitchell collection, Cortez, Colorado, USA, acquired from 1958 to 1962
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#171341
Condition
Minor nicks to peripheries and both faces, with light staining, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout. Old museum number written in black ink on verso.