"Ketoh" bow guard

Identifying & Discovering
1

I have purchased this three weeks ago, price was $380.

  • Sterling silver, Navajo
  • 24 turquoises (with tiny pyrite)
  • 164g

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My questions to you experts

  • Authentic?
  • Natural or stabilized?
  • Mine?
  • Rough value?

Thanks a lot everyone.

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Nice Keto! I have sold and bought these right around what you paid. Value is really in the eye of the beholder. Turquoise might be the old sleeping beauty. Most turquoise is stabilized. You will want to get the leather portion if you don’t already have it. Let me know if you want some photos of a keto with leather. It is pretty easy to do if you are comfortable with leather cutting and strapping.

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Thanks! Great info. So it’s maybe not a bow guard? Seller stated arm plaque which I also couldn’t quite understand for this piece.
Keto … never heard before. Google and ChatGPT have not been a big help on this.
African religion jewelery? Or related to the keto diet? I’m sure you can explain :slight_smile:
Also this leather portion is not clear, so yes, I’d love to see some photos. Thanks a lot in advance.

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If you google ketoh, many images will come up to give you an idea of how the leather wrist part gives the finished look.

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Ah, ketoh, now Google can help. Thanks!
So basically put turquoise silver art on leather. Cool stuff. I love to buy stuff because I can always learn so much.

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It’s not just putting silver and turquoise on leather, because I have silver and turquoise on leather cuffs, and they’re NOT ketohs. What is a Ketoh, Bowguard (Bow Guard) or Wrist Guard? | Native American Jewelry Tips

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Cool, thanks, will read as soon as I can charge my phone.

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Beautiful piece, but not mid- century by a long shot. Turquoise looks natural.

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Thanks Michael, what year do you estimate?

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1974 - 1986 most likely time frame.

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There are some scuffs on the big stone. Are those damages from the string hitting it, or natural cavities? Looks more like cavities to me.

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Was thinking about getting this redesigned into a belt buckle but guess that’s not possible for a reasonable price. It’s bended with sharp edges. Maybe I’ll need a new buckle with cool hand stamping …

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Unless you remove the stones first (which I don’t recommend) your only option for a buckle is to retain the curvature and TIG weld silver buckle parts on. The trick is to find someone that TIG welds silver.

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That’s what I thought, too complicated and too expensive.
Thanks @StevesTrail .

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Actually the silver welding is not that expensive. I can check with the repair company I use. They may be TIG welding by now. I’ve got the equipment but am still in the experimental phase with gold.

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Thanks a lot, you don’t need to check, I will keep it the way it is and not waste your time.