Southwestern Leather Shield Appraisal

Southwestern-Style Leather Souvenir Shield or Keychain

This item is a teardrop-shaped leather accessory, likely a souvenir keychain or miniature decorative shield, featuring Native American-inspired iconography. The primary material is a medium-tan, smooth-surfaced leather with visible machine stitching along the outer perimeter. The central motif is a stylized Thunderbird, rendered in black ink or paint with a single horizontal red stripe across the tail section. Surrounding the Thunderbird are geometric triangular accents typical of Mid-Century Southwestern tourist trade aesthetics. The construction includes a darker, possibly black or dark brown, leather upper tab secured with a light-colored cord or twine passed through two circular punch holes. The piece appears to be encased in a clear protective plastic or glass, suggesting it is part of a larger framed collection or display set. The condition shows minor surface wrinkling in the center of the leather and some slight irregularities in the hand-painted or stamped black lines, which are common in mass-produced souvenir items from the 1950s through the 1970s. The overall craftsmanship is functional rather than artisanal, targeting the mid-tier souvenir market of the American Southwest.