I have a few pieces i would like help with but I’ll start with
The necklace pendant… if i seach Google is say its Pauline McCray, but it only has Mexico Navajo mark.
Thanks for any info and for the addition to the group.
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@Doubleb Hi ~ This is the hallmark listed for Paulene McCray (Navajo) in my Bille Hougart’s book of Native American & Southwestern Silver Hallmarks.
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Have you seen this mark? I wonder why Google shows this exact piece as being hers. Should i assume this is fake because it is stamped Mexico?
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@Doubleb No, I haven’t seen the hallmark on your pendant before. I have no idea why Google would point to this hallmark as belonging to Paulene McCray. I don’t know if this pendant is Native American made or not. I think you’d need to do more research to try and ID that specific hallmark.
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Are the stones real? First glimpse could be Chinese.
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My first thought was that the turquoise is possibly Chinese.
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Especially the lower left one looks very Chinese. Beautiful stone.
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So is Chinese good or bad. Does that mean fake?
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Chinese turquoise does not necessarily/automatically mean fake. Some Chinese turquoise is gorgeous, in my opinion.
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No being stamped Mexico does not make it fake. Google isn’t very good for hallmarks but I would try cropping the picture and search each image separately. Maybe just the bear without the word Mexico. My Pauline McCray pieces have the PM stamp. My guess on the turquoise would be Chinese Hubei. Pretty pendant.
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Some Chinese turquoise is good enough to be mistaken for high end American turquoise and can command very nice prices. The same rules apply for both—quality counts and high grade is always more expensive.
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It is very confusing as to why it says Mexico and Navajo. Maybe that’s what the op means by asking if it’s fake.
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Good point. I’ll try to find time to check out the bear/navajo hallmark and see if anything shows up.
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Well, a Navajo person could live everywhere the world. Also many Navajo were taken into Mexico as slaves in the 17th and 18th century. As far as I understand, as long as the artist is Navajo, the art can be called Navajo.
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I’m skeptical of that as a possible backstory.
Without a known Navajo artist with this (extremely strange) hallmark, attribution isn’t possible. While we’re guessing, the hallmark could even be an ill-informed offshore creation (not knowing Mexico from New Mexico in fabricating a hallmark).
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