From whence I was a young man, I’ve tended to lean toward whatever is older, historic, or more wizened. That goes for everything, but in my pursuits and passions especially.
This relatively new acquisition is no exception. It was purchased from the family that bought it from Lynn D. Trusdell (1938-2008) in the mid 1990’s. Lynn was one of a generation of remarkably knowledgeable and enthusiastic dealers and collectors along with Teal McKibben and Marti Struever of Santa Fe and Lauris Phillips of Los Angeles. As @TAH has shared, she was the proprietor of Crown and Eagle Antiques in New Hope, PA. Her collection of Native American art and jewelry was/is considered one of the finest assemblages ever curated, and it had an emphasis on pieces from the 20’s through the 40’s. Many of you may recall that @TAH has a very unique and beautiful sandcast buckle from her collection. Much like Tom, I am honored to be the next caretaker for a piece that Lynn once collected.
Upon photographing it, I discovered that some of the concho backings present with lovely hand tooled portions, begging the question, what was sacrificed or repurposed to provide them?
Navajo, ca. 1900-1910, 3 1/2" x 2 5/8" buckle, 3 1/2" x 2 3/4" conchos, 660 grams including original leather.
What a gorgeous, amazing belt, and it has gone to a new good home I love it that we have such a wide variety of tastes represented by the different members. Some love to collect and save the beautiful older pieces, and some love the new.
Could the tooled leather pieces be from a western saddle? Something like this?
You mentioned a dunce cap. I need one now… trying to pull up my W-2 from our former rink management company for my stinking taxes. I escaped to Turquoise People for a minute, and your beautiful belt calmed me down
I believe the diversity is one of the greatest attributes of this community. There’s much to be gleened from eachother, regardless of what camp we rest our head in. While I may not be passionate about the more contemporary works, there’s no doubt that I have a deep appreciation and respect for them. The craftsmanship present in many of the more recent pieces is absolutley jaw dropping.
They certainly could be! That was my initial thought, to be honest. The one backing has a series of punched holes, which provides a bit more evidence for our guessing game.
It’s great to know a bit of Navajo silver helped ease your tax-induced suffering.
Aaron, thanks for the additional photos and comments on your ultra cool pin. Between the impressions, reeded edge, and hand made clasp, that little thing is packed with all kinds of neat features.
So, what makes you think it was made of coin silver? I don’t mean to brag, but I have many years of experience with a highly trained eye, and I’m just not seeing it.
Wow, what a masterpiece in silver, Aaron! Pretty much the perfect example of a Phase 2 concho belt. Tasteful design, precision repoussé/stamp work, original leather, unique tooled leather backings, early creation, ex-Trusdell collection, and a published piece - it’s all there.
Many amazing pieces here. Wow.
Wrt the pin, @Ravenscry you have already found the right website,.
I love the pin. And I love old Mexican coins, the design is mostly extremely beautiful, like with old Canadian coins (even though often only .800 silver).
Thank you for your kind words @gt75. I recall you being coin-wise. That’s the site I found, and it seemed like a decent one, at least to my untrained eye.
In post number three hundred and eighty eight of this fine thread of @TAH’s, I shared a concho belt that once belonged to Western photographer Karl Moon.
I put feelers out and had been keeping my eyes peeled for one of Mr. Moon’s original photographs since acquiring that belt. About a month or so ago, a dealer in the Pacific Northwest shared the following find with me. The photograph, mattes, frame, and glass are original. I thought it would be neat to display the items together, considering the man that took the photo, once owned the belt.
The manner in which Karl signed his works is just stunning, to me. Impressed upon the photograph, in the bottom right, is the date, 1914, and his copyright, both of which lie directly beneath his lovely signature.
There is another impression located in the bottom left of the lower most matte paper, adjacent to the frame. It’s simply his name and place of residence (at the time). I find it very attractive how his name is layed out within the box bordering it.
And finally, my personal favorite, the font in which he titled his photographs. In this example, it’s located on the matte directly beneath the photo, in the bottom right.
Hey @Ziacat, his name/copyright and the plain, uninked, boxed signature both look to be placed with a stamp, they’re recessed into the paper.
This is so true and I agree!! I thought it neat how both the stamped and drawn boxed signatures so closely match. Other than the radiused corners, they’re dead ringers!
@Ravenscry needs to change his username to “Ravenseye”. Why? Because Aaron (Ole Raven Eye) found this advertisement on the World Wide Web that features the cast buckle I purchased last year. Heck, I can’t even find the breadcrumbs in the pantry when they’re right in front of me. Don’t laugh, @Ziacat.
Amazing find, Aaron! Thank you!
And no, I didn’t pay the price in the description. If I did, I would have insisted they throw in the saddles.
Always glad to help, Tom! As soon as I saw the original, fairly blurred photo, I said out loud, “Hey, I know that buckle.” The following emoji chain pretty much sums up the events.
So fun, but the caption copy is drunk and disorderly. The stunning coral Alice Quam cuff is listed as turquoise, at a price seemingly several increments higher than market price. There are four cuffs listed, but only three on the model. None is an “inlaid coral cuff.” The squash blossom necklace maker’s name is misspelled…
@chicfarmer@Ziacat Y’all made me enlarge that darn tiny caption copy & check it against the jewelry! Oh, and the mysterious & invisible "inlaid coral cuff". Seriously, though, I’ve gotta up my eagle-eye game. I’m slippin’ badly.
I love it that we have such a wide variety of tastes represented by the different members. Some love to collect and save the beautiful older pieces, and some love the new.
Always glad to help, Tom! As soon as I saw the original, fairly blurred photo, I said out loud, “Hey, I know that buckle.” The following emoji chain pretty much sums up the events. 
