Help on Conchos

Hi everyone! I told a friend I would help him with his concho belt pieces, and by helping I meant I would come here and ask you folks for information :grin:. There are 9 conchos and 1 buckle. The conchos measure 2 5/8" x 2 1/8". The buckle measures 3 1/8" x 2 1/8". I checked the Medicine Man site and art-amerindien sites but couldn’t find the mark. Do you recognize the maker? The mark is only on the buckle. He wants to sell the pieces but not through ebay. Is there a reputable dealer that might be interested in purchasing the pieces? Any other help such as tribe, etc. would be appreciated. All pieces tested as sterling silver. As you can see, 2 of the conchos are missing the turquoise. Thanks in advance for any help!

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@585925 Hi ~ I checked my Hougart’s ā€œNative American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarksā€ book but didn’t see this hallmark listed. I checked for ā€œR.L. Vatā€ but am not sure that my guess at the hallmark name is correct. I haven’t used it but others here also use Google Lens as a tool to help identify hallmarks. You may want to give that a try.

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Thank you, Patina! I should have mentioned that I tried Google Lens first with no luck. I appreciate you taking the time to help :+1:!

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My first thought was R. Lovato, too. Though I’m not sure who that would be; unlikely it’s Ray Lovato the famous bead maker. It’s a cool mark.

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Possibly it is two initials and the last name Vat, because there seems to be period after the first two letters (although I do see there’s another one after Vat so maybe the dots are representing the letter ā€œOā€ or something). Maybe it’s not even the hallmark of the artist - maybe it was put on for the owner. Or maybe the artist is not Native. But of course I’m just guessing. It may remain a mystery!

It does have a Navajo look, but without knowing the artist there’s no way to say for sure. And I would think having the stones missing would bring down the value a bit.

I agree with @OrbitOrange, this does not look like Ray Lovato’s work.

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Thanks for weighing in, Steve, OrbitOrange and Ziacat! I looked up Ray Lovato, but he seems more well known for his beads than any silverwork. Great guess, though. Hadn’t thought of using the periods as ā€œO’sā€. The signature is so distinct, I thought it would be recognized immediately but I was wrong. I’ll keep searching, and again, I appreciate your help!

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