Another try at photo upload tufa cast pendant





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Fantastic piece. Might be Darryl Dean Begay. He does some tufa work and uses good stones. :star_struck:

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Nice stones. The thing that strikes me as interesting about this pendant is that the hand was cast separately and applied to the main body of the arrowhead, different from any Native tufa casting that I’ve seen. And although it has a tufa-like texture, I’m not completely sure that it’s tufa cast. Compare the back of it, which has a shiny, almost tinfoil-like appearance, to the back of this tufa-cast cuff by Darryl Dean Begay:

Very different looking. Anyway, I don’t recognize the hallmark, and I don’t know whether it is or isn’t Native made. I just thought the construction was interesting and a little different.

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I sent Darrell a message and he confirmed that it is his work. I asked him about a ballpark price but I have not heard anything back yet. I would think that piece is. around 2000 or more.

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I was surprised to hear that it was Darryl Dean Begay as it did not seem to be his Hallmark.
Thank you for reaching out to him to authenticate.

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Wow, good work @Islandmomma! I didn’t think it was his because of the unusual construction and because it’s not how I’ve seen his work signed, but it looks like you nailed it.

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Yes, I thought the hand was a separate cast as well. The back was my doing as I polished the cast portion to confirm in my mind it was sterling. I was not familiar with the use of a hand in Navajo jewelry as well as it being attached to the pendant. I just want to be sure as I was given the opportunity to return it to the seller if it was not as he represented, sterling silver, Native American made.

Thank you for sharing your opinion, the only reason it is home with me now was my determination to figure out who made it and as much info as I could discover as I found it to be quite different as well. It is a large heavy piece, not even sure I can pull off wearing it.

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Thank you again for confirming your first instincts. Do hallmarks change as it seems he has signed his initials on most other work? Any idea if this is older and by any chance, would you know where the turquoise might be from.

People like you make this forum invaluable. I so very much appreciate your help.

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I was looking back through this and my medicine had kicked in before I typed that last message. I don’t even have Darryl’s
image
name spelled right. :woman_shrugging:
Anyhow, I recognized his work, checked Hougart’s hallmark book because of the arrowhead and then sent him a message. He answered confirming that it was his work but I don’t think he wanted to talk about price so I let it drop. I will tell you that he is a very good, award winning artist and uses high quality stones. I an attaching a screenshot of the hallmark info from Hougart’s. You got a top quality piece of work and if you can’t carry it off please feel free to send it to me. :blush:

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source: https://www.facebook.com/DarrylAndRebeccaBegayJewelry/photos/a.186390144856360/497110750450963

over 100 pictures of his work & the stones he uses

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Great job Steve! WOW is that a beautiful stone. Thanks for the link. I’ll definitely be checking it out.

Thank you again for your efforts on my find. I appreciate the link to Hougarts. I thought it was an interesting piece and ā€œIsland mommaā€, you will be the first I contact if I decide it is too large for me.:blush:

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Hi Steve,
Thank you for the reference to the turquoise. That was truly attracted me to this piece as well as the sugilite. It was wonderful to get all this information. Thanks again.

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Darryl gets a lot of his turquoise from the Ottesons, a family that owns several turquoise mines in Nevada. Candelaria is one of their mines, as is Apache Blue which is another option.

A lot of artists that work primarily in tufa carve their name or initials into the tufa stone for the back of the piece, which is what I’m used to seeing for Darryl. I wonder if the use of the alternate arrow hallmark in this case is because the area of smoother sheet silver on the back of the bezel set stone would take a hallmark better than the rough tufa textured silver.

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Funny, I was using the same logic once I saw the Hougart’s arrowhead. It seemed that the reverse of the cast portion of the piece had a different carved detail and he didn’t want to sign and alter that portion.
So happy I didn’t leave this one behind.
Thank you

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@Islandmomma well, I certainly learned something today! I have several pieces by Darryl; love his and Rebecca’s work. I have a friend who knows the family quite well and has many pieces by Darryl Dean, Rebecca, and their sons, Matthew and Robert. Nothing quite like this. Do you think this was an earlier piece? Such a wonderful family; and so great that Matthew and Robert are continuing the family tradition of beautiful tufa cast and high end turquoise.

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@biker4all beautiful cab! I have a ring by Darryl Dean Begay with a Candaleria cab so similar to this, so that would be my thought! Gemmy Candalaria is now one of my favorite…wish I had more!

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I really don’t know. I do know that I really like his work and hope I can afford something wonderful one of these days. :blush:

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@Islandmomma it would be interesting to know if the arrowhead was used during a certain timeframe, ie somewhat identifies the age? My bracelet is ā€˜97, and has his typical initials. I hope to see him at Santa Fe market…he and Rebecca, and maybe Robert will be at the Wheelwright show. If I do I’ll askšŸ˜‰

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I would appreciate any information that you might find if you make it to Indian Market. I did find a bracelet sold recently on eBay with a hand cast set with turquoise and attached to the cast bracelet with the arrowhead Hallmark thanks to ā€œ@Islandmommaā€. Need to find a chain or collar short and heavy enough to wear it with but so happy to have found this piece and as always appreciate the information and guidance all have provided.

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