This is a terrific ball head war club attributed to the Iroquois in upper New York State from the ex-collection of Jim Dresslar. The early club is carved from one piece of solid root wood with the ball being a root burl. The piece has a nice, deep shiny patina with some expected wear. The club exhibits a very early pattern with a straight body having the ball head being directly below the end exactly like two examples in “American Indian Tomahawks” by Harold L. Peterson’s 1965 book page 85 examples 3 and 4 both being mid-18th century (1750) and late-18th century (1780-1799) referred to by Peterson as, “Ball-headed club tomahawk, late 19th century. The straight haft resembles the Johnson tomahawk described above (example 3)..” Even the drop of the ball is similar to the Peterson examples. The body has a median ridge running down the center of the wood with the nearly ninety degree drop ball head having a curved end. The underside of the club has a snaking, winding curved bottom section which flows into a straight grip with triangle pointed end. The entire club has elaborate brass tack adornment and on one side an etched or scratched carving spots. The inside edge of the bottom and top has a cut design. The etching, cut edge and tacking could be a later addition. Truly a nice Eastern Woodlands weapon with beautiful art appeal. Similar examples have been documented in “American Indian Tomahawks” (1965) by Harold L. Peterson; “Indian War Clubs of the American Frontier” (2001) by John Baldwin; and “Rare American Indian Weapons” (2019) by Francis. Provenance: Purchased from Jim Dresslar of Indiana in circa 1992 as noted in the collection log of Tedy Levy of California. The club measures 24 ½ inches in length and the spike protrudes 2 inches from the ball.