Have had this sterling feather pin forever, and I was looking around to try to ID the artist with this hallmark “FIJ”. I see mention in a few places, but nothing concrete. Anyone know anything? As ever, many thanks. Liz
with that copyright symbol I think it may be a shop name instead of an artist name.
have found other items with the FIJ stamp plus an artist name
Hi @saguaro11. This is a lost wax cast piece, likely from a hand made master, and produced in quantity. I agree with Steve’s assessment that this is likely a shop mark cast into the piece rather than the signature of an individual craftsperson.
thank you- so to confirm- this is NOT Navajo or a Native American piece?
interesting- thanks…
That would depend on who was doing the casting and finishing work. If the casting and finishing was done with Native American labor, the piece would be considered Native American made.
Hand made (hand fabrication) is just one way to make jewelry, and is not a prerequisite for authenticity. The lost wax casting process has been around for thousands of years, and is simply another way to replicate or produce a finished product.
These pieces could well have been made by Navajo hands, but without a known source for the hallmark, representing the pieces as Navajo would be ill advised.
thanks for that clarification, appreciate details!
Hello Mike
I recently bought this piece and looked up to find another that is similar. I found one which the seller said was lost wax. How can you tell from looking at a piece of jewelry if it is lost wax or if it mass produced? much thanks.
Hello @nanc9354. Lost wax casting is a method used for reproducing designs with the highest possible degree of fidelity, and can be used for casting one of a kind type pieces, and for mass producing a design. It’s widely used in mass production because it’s usually the fastest, most inexpensive method of creating lots and lots of copies of a single item. Lost-wax casting - Wikipedia
Great. thank you. I was watching a video on it where they used plaster and after it was heated in the kiln and cooled they put it in water and the plastered dissolved…making it seam like it was done only once.
