A beaded leather pouch has hung on a wall in Sidney Coates' Santa Fe home for years.

The delicately beaded object with tinkling metal pieces was a gift from a friend. But until a visit to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture on Wednesday, Coates had no idea how old it was or its origin.

When she unrolled a piece of cloth to reveal the pouch to archeologist Dody Fugate, the scientist smiled.

"My goodness gracious. Look at that," Fugate said. "It looks pretty real."

After Fugate grabbed a magnifying glass to view it closely, she determined that the pouch likely was from the 1920s, crafted in the style of and probably by Native Americans from Plains tribes.

"It's brain-tanned leather," she said, "and this type of leather is heavy, which means it's probably elk. Maybe it's cow, but it is too heavy for deer. It's not commercial leather."

Assistant museum curator Tony Chavarria led her to a display case where a similar pouch sat behind glass. Although both objects are from around the early 20th century and may have been made for tourists, they are still considered authentic, he said.

Archaeologists were stationed in the museum lobby for two hours during the "Let's Take a Look" event, which every third Wednesday of the month offers artifacts owners a chance for a free evaluation of their items.

Another visitor arrived bearing a small package wrapped in a plastic sack. The square-shaped black pot was unsigned but rumored to be crafted by the son of famed San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez.

After taking a closer look, the archaeologists said it was unlikely that the piece came from Popovi Da.

"We can't authenticate that it's Popovi Da because by that time he was signing all his work," said Chavarria, who is from Santa Clara Pueblo and specializes in ethnography. "Everything about it says it came from San Ildefonso during the 1960s. That it's not signed could be an indicator that it's not his."

Santa Fe resident Ann Willcutt said she brought the pot to the museum for an elderly friend who is trying to determine whether it has any value.

Although curators can provide an approximate time period and the possible use of an object, they refrain from offering information about dollar value. Instead, they distribute a list of appraisers and other artifacts experts.

Sometimes people bring in objects that are clearly of a religious nature and may have been appropriated in an unethical manner, Fugate said. When that happens, she said, curators try to explain the sensitivity and encourage appropriate action.

Other times, children arrive with rocks that they suspect might be arrowheads or other tools crafted by long-ago people. Usually, she said, they are just piles of rocks.

"We try to tell them what kind of rocks they are and where they came from," she said.

The next "Let's Take a Look" session is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. May 18.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.