Best I can do is a guess since I can’t physically examine the settings, @Thomdec. Good closeups would help.
You say that you bought this necklace from a very well respected and knowledgable vintage jewelry dealer, and that you are interested in selling it. But you are running into problems selling it because you don’t know a lot about the necklace and how to market it, and you cannot identify the hallmark. It seems as though you believed it to be Native made before posting it here, perhaps based on style and materials, with no clear evidence that it is. Is this all correct?
I’m wondering, if the dealer you bought it from is knowledgable and respected, and you trust them, why you did not ask your questions of them prior to purchasing the item, instead of to us afterwards? I’m also curious if you bought it specifically to resell, and if you did so because you believed you could sell it at profit? Do you not believe that they, as a respected dealer with seemingly significant experience, had it correctly priced? Without fully knowing what you were buying, did you feel confident you could resell it without taking a loss? I am genuinely curious. I do not know what you paid, so perhaps you will be able to sell it for profit, but it just seems to me like the experienced dealer would likely have had it priced correctly and buying to resell when you are a beginner as you are might not be a great strategy.
In the 1970’s there was a huge Native American jewelry “boom,” and an explosion of both Native made jewelry and imitations, all of highly varying quality. That is to say in addition to well made Native jewelry (mostly hallmarked by known artists by this period), there was lower quality Native made jewelry consisting of pre-fab and supply shop parts, and Native style jewelry made by Anglos and hippies, often also consisting of pre-fab parts.
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This necklace definitely looks to be a product of that boom. The maker took enough pride in their work to hallmark it, but all the usual references have no ID for that hallmark. Therefore it’s going to be very hard if not impossible to link it to a specific artist. It’s mid quality, made with machined bench beads but real silver and turquoise. I see no obvious signs of stabilization, but this is likewise difficult to impossible to know for sure, so I think it would be disingenuous to refer to it as natural turquoise. It will definitely be impossible to determine the mine with certainty. Market it by what you know and can state factually, but don’t make any speculative claims. It will likely not appeal to serious collectors of NA jewelry, but as you say it makes a statement. If it is priced right it should sell for what it is, without needing an artist name or turquoise mine.
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Thank you for your follow-up message. The station necklace was my first Native purchase and I bought it as a collector, so the price I paid was at retail. The seller I referenced has a long history and is well respected in the jewelry business, it was during the 70s she focused on Native pieces. She has traveled throughout the West Coast and over the years has made friends with a number of Native Americans that she collaborates with, e.g. the Yassie family.
My love for Native jewelry has blossomed. I have been buying pieces attempting to curate a collection that represents and promotes the artistry of Native American jewelry. I also have joined various online groups with a large number of Native group members. I have established some very good relationships with Native sellers and well known collectors and appraisers. I appreciate your comments and understand the concerns of others and look forward to more heartfelt conversations.
@chicfarmer thank you for your response. I understand what you are conveying and the laws regarding the sale of Native American jewelry, etc. Please read my comments @OrbitOrange, I hope they address your concerns. All the best.
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I will get you better photos over the weekend. I am on the road right now. Thanks!
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Thank you, @Patina. I have a coral squash that I’d like to share with the forum. It’s a good example of a piece with the pomegranate blossoms you referenced. I hope to post more next week.
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Ah, I get it. That makes more sense. So you purchased this at the beginning of your Native American jewelry journey, not recently. You’ve likely learned a lot since then, and now are ready to part with some of your earlier purchases. I think many of us here probably got started in a similar way, myself included. I’m glad to hear that you have a genuine love for Native American jewelry, are curating a collection, and supporting Native artists. That’s definitely the type of member we enjoy having, and I’m sure many of us would enjoy seeing your more recent purchases, if you care to share.
As far as selling your necklace, I don’t think the unknown hallmark should be a hindrance. I consider an identifiable hallmark a bonus, but the jewelry should stand on its own with or without a hallmark. And hallmarks are not a guarantee of quality work, or even that something is handmade. Just accurately describe what you know about it and market it for what it is.
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I don’t have much else to add that others already haven’t, except that without provenance no one can say for sure where your turquoise was mined. We like to make educated guesses (often for fun and out of curiosity), but in selling your necklace you shouldn’t state that it’s from any particular mine since you don’t know. And I don’t think any of us here would want to have our guesses used in a listing.
And I almost forgot, welcome to Turquoise People. I know from personal experience that by reading as many previous threads as you can, you will learn a lot. If you’re interested in a particular topic, put it in the search bar above and get links. Those of us that are regular contributors have varying degrees of expertise and experience, but we all share a love of Native American art, and we do this simply because we enjoy it.
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@Ziacat thank you for your insight. I too have learned the only sure way to determine what mine a stone is from is firsthand knowledge from the sorce.
Joining this forum has already proven to be a great asset and learning experience. Research has always been an integral part of collecting and curating. I am curious by nature, so a job isn’t complete until I’ve done my homework.I’m looking forward to reading more from forum members and exploring the various topics at hand. Take care and be well.
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Hello! I want to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I have been hospitalized twice since joining the group and pretty much housebound. Fortunately, my business partner has kept the shop going in my absence.
I did get out today and was able to get the photos of the necklace you requested; I hope they are helpful. I’m looking forward to getting back in the loop. Take care. All my best!
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Sorry to hear about your health issues
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Thank you for posting these new closeups. Without solid provenance, it’s impossible to know who made this or where it was made.
While the materials are sterling silver, and nuggety turquoise (which looks like Kingman), visually to me the composition and symmetry does not read as ‘Native’, but as Asian.
Glad you’re back in the game!
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Thank you for your thoughts. I have two procedures shceduled at UCSF in September and November. Hoping to get back on track.
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You are welcome. Yes, the only “provenance” I have is from the seller. She has a huge collection of Native that she’s been building since the 60s. She picked it up at the Pasadena Flea Market in the 70s from a Native vendor. I don’t believe she would have bought it if she knew it was an import. But who knows, we’ve all been duped at some point. Thanks for the well wishes.
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That the composition reads visually as Asian doesn’t mean by any means that it’s made in Asia or anywhere else in particular.
My own work is sometimes unconsiously influenced by the Asian art my mother collected and loved, right down to every stick of furniture, screen, and piece of art in the living and dining areas of my childhood home.
Definitely looks like it was made by hand in the 70’s by a skilled silversmith. It’s a nice piece.
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I understand, thank you for the clarification. I too have a passion for Asian art, I have been collecting for years and just now downsizing. I am passing it on to my friends and family who I know have an interest and appreciate it. The last thing I want is for it to end up in a garage sale. It’s interesting how Native and Asian art have linked together and influenced my aesthetics.
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The aesthetics and carefully ordered symmetry in this piece are really interesting. What really stands out to me are the tight 1/2round coils on either side of the setting, and classically ordered symmetrical arrangement of the elements along the Y axis, rather than the circular forms and more flowing free style aesthetic one sees in Navajo work with similar components. This particular necklace is very different in that sense, and communicates a set of strictly ordered visual rules and priorities not typically seen in work of this type.
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While taking the additional photos, I noticed the tightly wrapped spirals as well, and after comparing them to other Native work I see your point. I also took another look at the original photos and see exactly what you are saying regarding the symmetry of the piece. It’s interesting how the artist created a structural juxtaposition by using raw nuggets rather than uniformly cut and polished stones.
NEW DEVELOPMENT: I just saw the same station necklace posted on a Native group’s FB page. It has the same maker’s mark, but the stones are different, of course. Attached is the photo for your reference.
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Not unexpected. Referring back to an earlier post regarding the possible use of a design template to fabricate these necklaces, this appears to confirm that impression.
During the 70’s many jewelry production workshops had in house employee designers, often of non-Native origin, who worked with company silversmiths and sketched out designs that were used by the shops silversmiths to produce jewelry tor distribution to wholesalers and retail outlets. Among these shops were J.B. Tanner, Atkinson Trading, Don Mortinsen’s shop, Chet and Mary Jones’ shop, Thunderbird Jewelry’s shop, to name just a few.
Both myself and my brother James worked in this capacity as designers and production managers for different trading companies employing this production model (which is still very much in practice) prior to founding our own workshops later that decade.
This trade practice has been in place since the 1920’s and 30’s, when the southwest opened up to the tourist trade in the first quarter of the 20th century.
The Native American jewelry phenomenon didn’t just happen as a spontaneous cultural event originating somewhere on the Indian reservations of the Southwest. It was built layer by layer through the directed efforts of non-Native entrepeneurs working closely with Native craftspeople to develop, promote, and sustain a thriving commercial market in Indian arts and crafts.
Sorry for the long winded history, but to understand items like the necklace being discussed, it helps to understand the genesis of the various factors and influences which originally brought it forth into circulation, as well as the likely origins of its non-typical design.
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