This is an original authentic fenestrated exquisitely carved shell gorget attributed to the Mississippian Mound Builder’s Ancient Culture of the South Appalachian Mississippian (including the Etowah, Town Creek, Moundville, Ocumulgee and Lake Jackson) dating to 800 CE to 1600 CE. The piece shows an exquisite carving of a spider’s boday on the inside with a fenestrated cutout out window silhouette having a circle around the effigy and twelve supports showing twelve windows. Provenance: The piece was acquired from the collection of E.G. Barnhill in the 1970’s. E.G. Barnhill was a celebrated photographer in Florida and was considered an authority on early American Indians. Barnhill, who died in 1987 at the age of 93, had been digging in Indian Mounds since his boyhood in North Carolina and in 1953 opened his museum called the “Ancient America” located north of Boca Raton, and later a second museum near Palm Bay, Florida called the “Indian Springs Museum”. One of the museums was built near a Calusa Indian mound. This piece was acquired by a Macon, Georgia collector from Barnhill at one of the museums in the 1970’s and was then alter purchased by the current owner, a historic private museum collection in Paris, France. The carved gorget is in very good condition for its ancient age. It measures 1 7/8" in diameter. Other examples of Fenestrated shell gorgets have sold at auction for as much as $11,407.50 at Tony Putty’s 2/25/2017 sale. A Barnhill Gorget was sold at Affiliated Auctions 12/6/2009 sale for $1,140 with this example showing finer condition and craftsmanship. For a complete representation of condition and for additional images please call 800-686-4216. It is the buyer’s responsibility to view each image and preview the item to determine condition.