posted 01-19-2006 02:24 PM            

Can anyone shed any light?

Thanks.

posted 01-19-2006 05:39 PM            

Although none of the motifs on your opener would appear to be Germanic, the positioning of the single swastika is right where it often appeared on Nazi daggers. While it is illegal to sell such items in Western Europe, many can be found in Eastern Europe (also many fakes). I have no interest in such items, but I have seen many in open air markets, antique stores etc. I am not suggesting this piece is even German, just sharing background information.

Anyway, I find this item rather puzzling, so I look forward to hearing what others think. Can you say more about where you got it, what the seller told you about it, etc.? Also, why do you think it is coin silver?

Tom

posted 01-19-2006 07:24 PM            

Generally, each of these pieces was stamped with one or more (often many) traditional Navajo symbols. There really isn't much meaning behind the actual placement of the symbols on this kind of work. The idea on tourist trade items was mainly to signify their Navajo-ness in general by use of instantly recognizable symbolism--as opposed to an arrangement that possessed a deeper meaning. In other words, the prominent location of the swastika on your item means that the maker just happened to decide on that symbol and place it where he did. Your item has nothing to do with Nazism.

Although your picture is currently not loading, I am certain it is a circa 1920s-30s Navajo letter opener made by hand (as the earlier souvenir pieces were) for the tourist trade.

The swastika also appears on many souvenir spoons from turn of the century, usually in conjunction with four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, and the phrase "Good Luck." I seem to recall that, in Navajo symbolism, the swastika is a stylized depiction of rolling logs.

Of course, after the swastika became associated with Nazism, its popularity and use on Navajo items died. Therefore, a swastika on a Navajo item generally dates it to no later than the 30s.

Although I have yet to verify this, I have heard that the Nazis' swastika was a mirror image of the traditional swastika symbol.

If possible, please update the link so we can see your picture.

posted 01-31-2006 02:54 PM            

I agree that the most likely origin of the letter opener is it being either a Navaho or Hopi made tourist trinket. As it is rather crudely made, the only date that is relatively certain is that it should be pre-1940 since that was the year the Navaho, Hopi and some other tribes held a ceremony to formally give up their sacred symbol. That does not mean absolutely it is pre-1940 since I have seen the swastika used occasionaly on tourist trinkets that are more recent, though I am not sure they are ones made in the U.S. or as part of the big american indian artifact reproduction industry that is thriving in Southeast Asia.