REPLICA Gorget brass traditional (from old brass kettle) - Kenneth Hamilton

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Here Kenneth Hamilton, trade silver era replica artist has fashioned a crescent gorget from an antique brass kettle about 200 years old. Trade silver gorgets were popular among the Native Amercian tribes who traded for them. Brass gorgets were copies of the trade silver gorgets that Native Americans made themselves by cutting up brass kettles they had traded for. This crescent gorget is 5" across at the "longest" part and is 2.25" deep at the center. NOTE: This will come with two strips of brown leather (commercially tanned) attached thru the holes on the side - you can tie these together to wear this - or you can add metal chain or silk cord, ribbon - your choice. Leather attached strips not shown!) Original crescent gorgets made by Native Americans were observed byEuropeans as early as 1580. In a drawing done at that time, men were shown with what appears to be crescent shaped pendants made of shell. In Europe this shape in metal was worn by some soldiers to protect their necks in battle - would prevent someone grabbing them from behind and slitting their throats. Since this shape was already worn by Native Americans - it was an easy item to make in silver and use for a trade item. Gorgets of trade silver were quite popular in the mid 1700's and often elaborate designs were stamped, etched, pierced and rocker engraved on them. Here Kenneth Hamilton, trade silver era replica artist has fashioned a crescent gorget from an antique brass kettle about 200 years old. Trade silver gorgets were popular among the Native American tribes who traded for them. Brass gorgets were copies of the trade silver gorgets that Native Americans made themselves by cutting up brass kettles they had traded for. This crescent gorget is 5." across at the "longest" part and is 2.25" deep at the center. In almost every early photo or portrait of NE Native Americans you see them wearing "trade silver" items . A s mentioned above - brass gorgets were Native American made replicas of the trade silver gorgets . Ken writes of Trade Kettle Brass Ornaments" - "Numerous (body) ornaments were made by Natives and fur trade personnel out of cut up brass trade kettles - arrow points, ear and neck pendants, arm and wrist bands - gorgets. My brass ornaments are made from 200 year old B ristol kettles. The old alloys and ham mer and spin marks are authentic and unlike any m odern brass." Th is brass is beautiful, thick, rich looking and wi th depths not seen in modern metals. W HAT IS Trade silver?? - When early white traders made contact with Native American peoples, they needed items to trade with the Native Americans in exchange for furs. These items had to be something Native Americans valued, yet could not make themselves. The items needed to be small and portable to carry long distances to sites to trade. Glass beads and silver jewelry were two items that filled this need perfectly. The first silver items were made in Europe, but soon English and French silversmiths living in the "new world" made most of the silver items for trade w/ Native Americans and then for treaty obligations . This great great kettle brass gorget and sterling silver pieces in this ebay store are by Ken Hamilton well known artist of reproduction trade items -1700-mid 1800. Ken is of Lakota heritage and an adopted Ottowa. Ken Hamilton researches his trade silver designs, spending time pouring over books, pictures and visiting museum collections. I know that museum directors and collections managers in every Maine museum are familiar with Ken and his work. It is well researched. Since his mother is the leading authority on trade silver - Ken knows his stuff. In photo following, Ken appears as an Ottawa warrior, circa 1777, in full regalia (holding one of his tomahawks) on the front cover of his mother’s 1995 book: “Silver in the Fur Trade 1680-1820” by Martha Wilson Hamilton. This book is available in this ebay store. Check out the description - it is a great book for those interested in this historic era as well as anyone curious about early Native trade patt... read more

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