There's a lot to like here. The design is not only attractive, but seems consistent with the forms used in the surviving beads and small sculptures of the Mound Builders. What's most interesting to me is how well he's duplicated the look of engraved and polished stone using Super Sculpey.
4 comments:
I have one of these and it is quite nice. Joe achieved the smooth stone look by casting them in Ultracal.
I always look forward to what Joe comes out with next!
Excellent background information on this build. There is a good chapter on the mound builders available for free download on Project Gutenberg here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2873 although you might just want to see the pertinent Chapter 10 here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2873/2873-h/Chap10.html from The Prehistoric World or Vanished Races, by Emory A. Allen.
You can download these copyright free books from Project Gutenberg to add your prop collection. But if you are good with Photoshop, you can simply add in a photo of your prop into this existing book to add to the tableau. Imbedding textual “proof” is a good part of presentation.
Along that line they also have Rough Stone Monuments and Their Builders by T. Eric Peet http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15590 which can be modified the same way. I see this figure more in a Mesopotamian context myself, maybe with a bit of Akkadian text along the base.
P.S. I read the article you cited, Animal Carvings from Mounds of the Mississippi Valley and was amused to find that indeed, there were fake items associated, even then. Read the section about the Elephant Mound (p153) and the two “Mastodon Pipes” figs 28 & 29. found circa the 1880. How nice it would have been to have tuned up a Cthonian figure or two for inclusion. I can see show this project started now; “not entirely above criticism”, heh!
Beautiful piece! Joe's take on ethnic idols and specimens never fail to astound me.
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