Came upon this during my adventuring this week. It struck me as a really neat piece mostly because I have not seen one quite like it before. The only other mark I see with those initials is a different maker, and I am hard pressed to make any kind of guesses on this piece. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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It is called Zuni Fish Scale inlay. Likely this was made by Stewart & Maria Tucson, Zuni. Nice bolo.
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Is this Blue Gem turquoise?
Thank you <3 ! I am so used to seeing small stones with Zuni pieces, I would have been hesitant to call it Zuni. I will compare it with more of their pieces. I have seen small inlays with this type of fish scale, but never anything with larger stones.
I am awful at identifying types of turquoise. So I could not say with any certainty.
I think you are right with the ID, though it does not match the style of the stamped initials I see online, the pattern and work is an exact match for some of their other pieces.
Hallmarks are funny like that. One little metal stamp is easily broken, lost or left behind. Often the clues we see in style of work and hallmarks lead us only to the ability to attribute work to a silversmith. I suggest that you look for their work online and see if you can find other pieces that have the similar hallmark. You might even be able to find them on FB and ask them to weigh in on it.
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