Description

This sterling silver brooch, depicting a Canada goose, carries a maker’s mark reading WJM. North American silversmithing has a long and genuinely significant tradition among Indigenous makers across many distinct nations. Rather than guess at a specific attribution that can’t be verified from the mark alone, the honest thing to say is that WJM is worth researching properly, ideally by someone with real expertise in Indigenous North American silverwork marks.

What can be said with confidence: the piece is sterling silver, the goose is rendered with real anatomical attention, and the maker clearly cared enough about attribution to stamp the work.

Why getting this right matters more than usual. Indigenous silverwork has a well-documented history of misattribution in the wider antiques market. The respectful approach is to present what’s actually known without inflating it into a specific claim the mark alone doesn’t support.

What to look for. The WJM mark is clear and legible on this piece, which is what makes it possible to research properly.

This piece was part of a small, genuinely personal collection of antique jewellery, gathered over years rather than acquired for resale. It has since sold.