Two Bronzes by J. H. Bond - Another Pair of Mysteries!

This post is a bit unusual in that I own not one but TWO bronze sculptures by an artist that not only have I never heard of, but apparently zero information exists on the web about either these or any other pieces by this artist or the artist as well. It's like they fell out of the sky and into my collection. If anyone out there knows anything about the sculptor J. H. Bond or the artist's works, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! I'm at a total loss.

So here's the story. I was surfing the most popular online auction site out there when I came across a bust of a Native American Indian man with a very low starting bid and (once again) a very minimalist description. In fact, the seller's list of "do's and dont's" and "I will's and I wont's" was far longer than the description of the piece itself! That one sentence description wound up buried in a slew of the seller's rules. I couldn't even read the artist's name in the pictures and the seller just had it listed as "Bond." I rolled the metaphorical dice and placed a not-so-high maximum bid and let it roll. Happily I won, and honestly for pretty close to the metal value of the bronze. Once it arrived home, I checked out the signature and began researching.

I hit a wall.

The only thing I could find was yet another piece by the same artist, for sale with a very low buy-it-now price. I figured that since I'm researching the one I own, I might as well own the second one too and feature the two of them in one post. The more, the merrier, eh? I actually wound up spending almost exactly the same amount for both pieces once shipping was added, and I mean it was down to a three dollar difference. Unfortunately neither seller could give me any information about either piece, so I began playing around with my research, getting more and more desperate to find ANYTHING - old auction records, past gallery listings, newspaper mentions, obituaries, ANYTHING. My search terms got pretty esoteric, let me tell you!

Again I hit a wall. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The first sculpture is a bust of a proud warrior from the Plains - I believe it's Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce in his prime, but that's a shot in the dark guess - judging by his buffalo robe, bear claw necklace, hair style and the sun dance scars/wounds on his chest. The bronze is signed but not dated, titled or numbered, nor are there any foundry marks. It's very nicely sculpted and finished as well as being well cast (it's so heavy that I believe it's solid bronze or close to it), sitting on a nice cherry wood base. One would think that a piece this nice would have gained some notice SOMEWHERE.  AAARGH!!!!

The second piece is more of a plaque or paperweight, though it's of a size that it could also easily be made into a belt buckle. The scene depicted is a bit macabre. It is titled "Tree Burial" and depicts the wrapped and tied bier of a Plains Indian warrior placed high between two tree branches, his shield hanging above his head and what looks to be a vulture or large raptor perched with wings spread, standing on his legs. It is also signed "J. H. Bond" but is numbered 25/2500 on the the bottom, in a cutout area of the base felt. A tag taped to the bottom gives the title and artist's name, the date 1992 as well as mentions that the edition is closed. Aside from the original price, no other information is given however. Once again, AAARGH!!!

So here I present my two bronze sculptures by one J. H. Bond, mystery artist of the month. Please, PLEASE, I'd love to have more information on the artist and these two pieces!!

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, front

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, right

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, back

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, left

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, from above

Chief Joseph? Plains Native Man Bust, J. H. Bond, bronze, ???, signature

"Tree Burial", J. H. Bond, 1992, 25/2500, bronze, front

"Tree Burial", J. H. Bond, 1992, 25/2500, bronze, back

"Tree Burial", J. H. Bond, 1992, 25/2500, bronze, edition mark

"Tree Burial", J. H. Bond, 1992, 25/2500, bronze, signature