Silver and turquoise Southwest Yei bracelet. Navajo style, maker?

I'd certainly guess it to be American and probably NA (and that's definitely not good enough for any attribution so I agree to stay with Southwestern) but with respect to all I come from the school that unless you know the artist who has attributed the turquoise or you were there when the turquoise was pulled from the mine you should not attribute it to a specific mine, beside the fact that specific mines can have stones that vary in color, matrix and hardness.

 

Yes, I would also say Southwest. It could turn out to be NA, I will keep searching, but even then, it is not signed.
While I understand the sensitivity, I'm not as fussy as some about those things. Non-native Southwestern artists have made some beautiful jewelry, and Sicilian Frank Patania had a profound influence on Native Southwestern jewellery. So I don't even see the need to claim something to be NA when I have no proof.
Classic Navajo leaf, flower and vine decorated jewellery is true Art Nouveau style, and is often mistaken for Art Nouveau period here in Europe, and Zuni channelwork could be seen as Art Deco with Zuni designs. Art Nouveau inspired is often claimed as Native, and others working with those designs accused of cultural appropriation. To me, from another part of the world, that boggles the mind. By the way, the Art Nouveau jewellery style also lingered on in Poland, and is considered traditional there.
NA artists do not always have the 'tunnel vision' some collectors have. Charles Loloma always acknowledged other influences on his work. He told me he started using lapis after seeing an exhibition on ancient Egypt, and after a visit to Japan he added pearls. He liked traditional African ostrich egg discs, and fit them very nicely into his bracelets. Now lapis is used in many NA pieces, even pearls and African ostrich egg discs sometimes.

The mines are indeed a tricky thing. I have sold a lot of Sleeping Beauty turquoise jewellery (straight from the artists) decades ago, it was always that very pristine looking SB. While researching this bracelet, I was surprised to see so many SB nuggets (also in turquoise mine information) with substantial black veining, equally attractive.

 

It isn't sensitivity, it's law in the US. Illegal to sell as NA unless it's properly marked by a recorded artist.

I've never known Dineh leaf, flower and vine to be mistaken for Art Nouveau here.

 

Interesting comments but as an American I know how very strict the US law is on selling an NA item. Ownedbybear is correct. One must know both the artist and tribe to list as NA unless the item is pre I BELIEVE 1935. I agree that many NA artists do not work traditionally (and Loloma is my personal Holy Grail-I almost treated myself to a pair of earrings a few years ago but just couldn't bite the bullet on the price-how fabulous that you've met him Any Jewelry) but again, unless you know that the artist is NA it can't be listed as such, at least on US sites. And, we're restricted on signed traditional pieces if they contain bear claws which can be sold in the US outside of CA but since ebay is CA based bear claw is banned on the entire US site.

I also am surprised that traditional NA work could possibly be mistaken for anything Art Nouveau. That would never happen in the US but of course it's made here. The problem that we have here are the Mexican copies of NA which aren't always signed (usually they are) and can be very good. Most of the Asian copies I've seen are pretty easy to call out.

 

Obb, I was clearly not talking about the law, I should think I have made it abundantly clear, in this thread and others, that I would never sell anything as NA if there is no proof it is.
I also thought it was clear that I said I am not fussy about the origin of beautiful objects.
That particular law applies when you sell in the US, or through a US based company. It does not apply to the appreciation of beauty by someone in The Netherlands collecting jewellery, whether it be NA, non-Native Southwestern, Bulgarian, Yemeni or Chinese.
The US do not have an 'appreciation of beauty police', and if they ever would, they would not have any jurisdiction in The Netherlands. Therefore, I, as a collector of beautiful jewellery, whether it be NA, non-Native Southwestern, Bulgarian, Yemeni or Chinese, am still allowed not to be fussy about the origin of beauty. I am still free to appreciate beauty without putting a label on it, even in this ever more compartmentalising world, where I myself don't even know what someone is going to label me as next. Obb, I don't know your own origins, but I can tell you that being multi-ethnic/multi-cultural in the present-day world has made me very aware of the whys and wherefores of labels. I can't stop people putting labels on me, but I will fight for the freedom to appreciate beauty without having to put a label on it. As the famous German poet Schiller said: "die Gedanken sind frei", the thoughts are free.

I own several Navajo pieces of which the Dutch, Belgian, and German sellers thought they were European Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau is not as expensive here as Native American, so no complaints.

 

Wondering if the piece could be contemporary Mexican, meant to deceive. The tongue and groove clasp is pretty traditional for Mexico. I agree that it doesn't matter unless one is specifically a collector of NA.

 

Mexican was one of my contemplations as well. It is not Mexican marked, so if Mexican, it could be the intention to deceive.

 

My commiserations about the earrings, I know the feeling. Even during his lifetime a tiny pair of earstuds with just his signature cost over $500. Charles was probably the most amazing artist I ever met. And that is saying something, I come from a family of artists who include Fernand Léger. I prefer Charles Loloma.

 

I wouldn't give this too much thought. I think it's unlikely that you'll ever identify it so just sell it as Southwestern or wear and enjoy! If I ever trip over something similar (I spend a lot of time in New Mexico) I'll touch base.

 

Wow-you just named two of my faves. If I ever win the lottery both are on my list. The earrings were $1800 and were tiny inlays with a dribble of gold. They were most likely made for a child. My husband was going to buy them for me for an anniversary present and when he asked me if I'd want them if they weren't Loloma I knew that I wouldn't and it was still a lot of money so we passed. At least I've been lucky enough in my life to have tried on several landscape bracelets. The last one that fit me was $35,000...oh well...

 

AJ-I also think you brought up an interesting point regarding the appreciation of beauty without labels. In theory i'd agree with you but in reality I'd rather own pieces that are what they appear to be but that's just me. I have a very unusual (definitely all handmade including the beads) coral squash that I picked up at a flea market. I started second guessing myself that it could be Mexican and stopped wearing it until I had a zillion dealers in Santa Fe tell me that it was a beauty and definitely Navajo.

 

Thanks reader, I appreciate it.

I think it matters in price, so I probably wouldn't pay as much (and didn't in the case of the bracelet), but I'd wear it and appreciate its beauty just the same.

 

It definitely matters in price. I've just learned that unless something is what it appears to be, I won't wear it so I've become very careful with my purchases. I certainly make no judgments for others and know that the international market for NA work is quite different than it is in the US.

 

Not to make you jealous, but I wore one during a show. Had to give it back again. A couple of days after the show Charles proposed to me, when I declined (feeling very flattered of course), he asked me to come over to Arizona anyway, to model his jewellery. As you gathered from the above post, I have a multi-ethnic background, I had looks that could be interpreted in different ways, which he thought an advantage. I have been mistaken for Native in North and South America, even on Reservations. In some Mediterranean countries people get offended if I 'pretend' not to speak their language. Even Moroccans have thought I am Moroccan, in France they think I am part Vietnamese, etc. etc. In reality I am a mix of European and Asian cultures and ethnicities, I've counted 16 so far.

 

You have made me beyond jealous and now I'd LOVE to meet you LOL. Sounds like you've lived a fascinating life AJ. I didn't know who Loloma was until about 15 years ago and by then the prices were already insane and have obviously gotten worse. I see work frequently and was lucky enough to see his retrospective at the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe a number of years ago. It was spectacular. Do you have some of his work? I would have married him!

 

Sadly I don't have any of his work.

I was very flattered, but wasn't in love with him. We got on very well though, while he was in Europe I showed him, his niece Verma and her husband Bob (his manager at the time) around. I liked him (and them) very much, but his personality was as strong as his designs, which could have caused problems. He kind of waved all that away by saying I could live in his guesthouse in Scottsdale, but I don't consider that a marriage. I have too many principles, and I am neither a gold digger nor accept being arm candy.

 

Time to get rolling here-I have an early meeting. Wonderful discussion and of course, I was just kidding about marrying Charles...sort of...

 

It seems many people tend to forget or never had the information that hobbyist have made 10's of thousand southwest/NA style pieces over the years with no marks.

 

Absolutely right Hollyblue. And some of them made good quality pieces too.
And for a long time many professional NA artists didn't sign their work either. I don't think I've ever seen a Frank Dishta piece that is signed, but he is seen as one of the founding fathers of Zuni flush inlay, which also led to channelwork, etc. The technique was instigated by non-Native C.G. Wallace, who wanted to help the Zuni make something of themselves, and not live in reservation squalor.

 

I give up LOL although I don't see it as hobbyist-could be an Anglo jeweler but the more I look at it I find the design elements a bit of a disjointed mix of modern and traditional-don't get me wrong AJ-it's a stunning piece but there is something a bit odd about it. There are so many non traditional NA artists out there but usually there's some consistency of elements and you've got the modernist stuff going on with that odd cartouche-I have never seen that and I live part-time in the SW. I know Asia was suggested earlier by Bear (I think) and Mexico by me. The odd mix and the clean modern bezels make me think that it may not have been made in the US as I initially thought, but again, I doubt that we'll ever know and I will post back after showing it to some friends in Santa Fe. Just enjoy it or sell it as Southwestern.