Hand Carved Sterling Flying Frog Bracelet

Photo of Hand Carved Sterling Frog Bracelet D#14 by Owen Walker

Hand Carved Sterling Frog Bracelet #14 by Owen Walker

The Flying Frog Bracelet, Design 14, is Hand Carved in Sterling Silver by Owen Walker at Walker Goldsmiths. “The idea that Frogs could fly is so absurd that I had to carve it on a bracelet just to see what it would look like.”

Frog’s appearance in ancient Haida Art is fascinating because there were no Frogs on Haida-Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) until they were recently introduced in the last 50 years.  To the Haida, Frog was a strong spiritual being and was a watchman and messenger from the spirit world.  While Frog may seem a small and helpless creature, he is really a being of great power.  The image of Frog, in Northwest Coast Indian Art, is often portrayed in the act of transferring spiritual power; this is often portrayed as two creatures with their tongues connected.  When you see this tableau in the art it has meaning far beyond artistic license.

One day Frog, while on his way home, was absorbed with his own thoughts and as he hopped around a bend in the trail he startled Grizzly Bear. Bear growled at Frog and bared his huge teeth while he tried to step on him. Frog escaped and ran (hopped?) back to his village where he embellished the story about the horrible monster that was seen nearby. All of the Frogs held council to determine the best course of action to avoid the new scourge of the neighborhood.  They determined to combine their magic powers and grow wings so they could fly to the mainland and escape the horrible monster.  Thus, there came to be no Frogs on Haida-Gwaii.  This Frog is shown with feathers where his front legs should be so he can fly away from the Grizzly bear and be far from danger.

I have always been fascinated by this story because of the crazy idea of flying frogs.  I thought the concept was unique to the North west coast until one day my friend, Scott Jensen, brought me a little wood carving from Indonesia of a frog with wings!

Hand Carved ~ Sterling Silver Flying Frog Bracelet ~ by Owen Walker
design #14, 1 and 1/4″ wide tapering to 3/4″ with Abalone inlaid eyes

Unit Price: 750.00
Shipping for US & CA: $5.00

To ship outside the US or Canada, or if you require more information about this item please contact us through the email form at right. We will notify you as soon as your order is shipped.

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