Hi All
I hope your all having a lovely day,
I have just received my new bracelet,and I would love some information please,and confirm it is genuine,seller listed the maker as Dean Brown?
Any idea on age
Type of turquoise
Rough guess on the value
Kindest regards
Caz
Thank you so much in advance
Kindest regards
Caz
I’d be extremely suspicious of this one. Looks like block (plastic) turquoise to me. I wasn’t familiar with Dean Brown, but it looks like he was a real Navajo artist, a nephew of Kirk Smith who trained with Kirk, and worked in a similar style. These are some examples I found on the internet of his work:
As expected they resemble Kirk Smith’s work more than the bracelet you posted. They also exhibit much higher quality silver work. Compare the bezels, for example.
And here is his hallmark, which is not an exact match for yours:
I think your bracelet is likely to be an import.
Agree with @OrbitOrange it’s block turquoise and not by Dean Brown. I found a bracelet sold as by Davin Benally, Navajo, with a similar DB who does work in block turquoise. I hope you paid something fair. Here’s a cluster bracelet, made in multiples, that retails for $132:
Evidently Davin Benally exists, since Perry Null has sold his work (composite stone).
https://perrynulltrading.com/products/benal35835263
Thank you very much for the info,no I didn’t pay very much for it as I wasn’t sure on the origin
Kindest regards
Caz
Im glad it wasn’t an import. There are also other Native American artists using block. It’s a nice looking bracelet.
I don’t think we’ve established whether it is an import or not. Yes, there are Native American artists that use block and other lower quality materials like composite turquoise. Davin Benally is apparently one of them, and it could be him. But these generic two initial stamps are notoriously difficult to identify, and often associated with imports. The stamp on the OP’s bracelet is also not an exact match for that on the Etsy bracelet that @chicfarmer poster. The letters on that one are thinner, and taller. Could still be him–maybe he used different stamps at different points. Or not. These cluster styles are also one of the most common styles made overseas. With the combination of block turquoise, generic two letter initials, and cluster style, I remain suspicious.
I’m on the same thought track as @OrbitOrange. Found this with the Davin Benally Hallmark, but attributed to Dean Brown (wrongly I think). They are actually staying that it’s howlite.
Agree with the caveats about its origin. It started out misattributed, after all, and beyond that it remains a question.
