Sterling Silver Hand Engraved Thunderbird Tag
Awesome Thunderbird!
This is the first of the new hand engraved tags being carved by Adam Mills in Sterling Silver at Walker Goldsmiths. The Tag features a Thunderbird. Adam has been learning and working at hand engraving with the assistance of Owen Walker, Master Engraver, for over a year. This tag is the first in a line of 10 NW motifs by Adam that will be featured on Walker Goldsmiths webpage.
What is a Thunderbird? There are many wonderful tales in the legends of Thunderbird. They are an explanation of the wild and violent energies in nature like those found in violent thunderstorms. The Makah on the NW Washington coast tell of Tunderbird moving her wings in huge violent beats upon the sea to create the mighty waves and the sound of this action was the thunder. The Thunderbird had her nest, naturally, high up in the Olympic Mountains on Hurricane Ridge. To feed her babies she would swoop down to the Straits of Juan de Fuca and grasp whales in her talons to drag up from the sea to her nest.
Thunder Beings, essentially an attempt to represent the patterns of activity of a powerful, mysterious force in a way that can be understood simply and easily are mythical creatures believed to also have been birds that transformed into people and lived as people. Legendary Thunderbirds folded their feathers behind them as a cape and removed their beaks while marrying and living as humans. When other tribes tried to capture them they revealed themselves and their true power destroying those whom sought to capture or enslave them. Thunderbird is one of the highest ranking creatures usually seen on a crest of a powerful Chief.
These Thunderbird Dog Tags are 2 inches in length and 1 inch wide Sterling Silver. Tags come with a strong 24″ .8MM nickel plated bead chain. Personal engraving can be done on the back for an extra charge.
