Can anyone with Hougarts look this up? The hallmark looks suspiciously like a fake chinese hallmark posted on another site. The bracelet appears legit but you never can tell just by looking at pics.
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All I can add is that the tapered ends do not seem typical NA.
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Looks Hopi to me @StevesTrail. Very clean practiced saw work, characteristic expert single tool background stamping. Professional hallmark stamps. I think this oneās a winner.
Looking more closely at the photo, I can make out the layers which are almost equal thickness, which is another characteristic of Hopi work. Non-hopi imitations will often use markedly thinner backplate (#22, #24 or #26 gauge) with an #18 or #20 gauge top plate.
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I have one of his pieces, and that is not his mark. This is his mark, and they are different.
The back of his pieces look different than this one. His look kind of distinct on the back. When I get a chance Iāll show you, but I wonāt be able to till later today.
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Iām confused with this piece, because it does look like a legit piece, but that is the mark that is sometimes used for fake Chinese pieces. But usually Iāve seen it on stuff that doesnāt look good, and I personally have not seen it on Hopi items. I had a thread on here a couple years ago with a fake piece that had this mark, but it looked totally fake, and they were claiming it was his. @mmrogers Is very knowledgeable, so maybe someone has used this for their actual hallmark also.
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This was the thread.This TICKS me off
The caveat with handmade jewelry is what one hand can make, another hand can make in precisely the same fashion. Typically though, more often than not imitations will take shortcuts rather than faithfully reproducing exactly what an original artist has done.
This would be an ideal candidate to duplicate in quantity using high volume production casting. If I were a knock off shop, thatās how Iād do it. Make a mold from an original, make a bunch of wax copies, tree them up, and āBobās your uncleā, fast inexpensive copies with virtually no waste that can be finished to look like the real thing.
That isnāt how this one was made though. Whoever made it, expertly cut the pattern from milled sheet, hand soldered it together, expertly applied the back ground stamping, and hand formed the bracelet around a mandrel and professionally finished it in the Hopi fashion, using a worn down sanding belt to get a smooth, even, satin finish.
This doesnāt look like a copy to me.
ETA: Recognizing and being familiar with the hallmarks of various known artists is not at all my wheelhouse. My gig is understanding and communicating the technical aspect of how something is made in terms of materials, techniques and processes.
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@Jride101, you might try contacting this gallery to see if this is his work.
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About 15 years ago there was a flood of fake chinese āHopiā overlay on websites. It looked very professional but there were small design elements that you could tell werent Hopi (like the ends of the bracelet above, the triangle and other design doesnt look like a Hopi silversmith would incorporate that.) I almost bought a few items cause they were so cheap but decided not to cause i want THE REAL THING, not fake imitations.
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You have a wealth of knowledge mmrogers, thanks for being active on this site.
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Thanks for the link to the old thread. So you did not find this specific hallmark in Hougarts, correct? Yeah Manuel Hoyungwa (i had sp. right the first time, then edited it) hallmark of raincloud is def different that this suspicious one.
The one of the far right of what Steve posted is close, but not quite right.
The design element, specifically the ends with the free floating triangle and arrow, looks suspicious to me. Seems like a Hopi silversmith would end the bracelet overlay differently.
Would characterize those as balancing elements. This is a bracelet was probably made to sell to dealers rather than something heirloom quality. Something the craftsperson can trace out from a template and whip up 10 or 20 at a time. I agree it doesnāt look like much thought went into the design, but overall the bracelet is certainly attractive enough to do its job as a money maker for the silversmith.
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I have worked with the Hopi people to take down someone online who was selling fake kachina dolls by the truck loads. Is it too late to ask one of them for some guidance as far as this piece goes? He works at the Hopi cultural center. I can shoot him an email with the pics, if it will help or make a difference at this point. Let me know.
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