I’ve had this set for quite a while and always wondered if it was actually by Kirk Smith. I just saw a very similar set sold on eBay as being made by him, but my cuffs of his are of a different style than this piece.
The DD Ranch has a bio on him with hallmarks.
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Hey @lynn. This looks similar to jewelry that’s mass produced and is fraudulently sold as being Native American. I’m not saying your piece isn’t Native made, but while the “KS” and script hallmarks were both used by Navajo Kirk Smith (see @StevesTrail’s link), the smith of that name that I’m privy to did an entirely different class of work, and is best known for his concho belts.
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And heavily built, expertly stamped bracelets and earrings with gem-grade, bezel-set stones (not inlay).
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My first thought too @Ravenscry. Substantially similar in construction and materials to an offshore group I’m familiar with.
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Worth a thorough read. This is what the OP is actually looking at, and it 100% is NOT Kirk Smith, or even made on these shores.
These are the fraudulent products of international criminals, and they are everywhere!
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Thanks for attaching this article. I was aware of this fraud, but It’s good to read about again. I’m traveling home from Market in Santa Fe with a friend whose husband was a trader and knew about the Al Zuni operation. He never bought in Gallup; but typically from reputable dealers in Zuni etc. This subject came up when his daughter, who met us at Market, bought a Calvin Begay “ starry night” cuff from a small shop on Palace, close to the Plaza. The small gallery was featuring Calvins work and had a lot of Calvin Begay style pieces, and Calvin was there. My friend and I felt it was highly likely many could be fake, but the daughter felt since she was buying from Calvin, it was authentic. I’m sure her dad (deceased) would have dissuaded her from the purchase. Although not my liking, It was a pretty cuff and I was glad she was so happy with it. I doubt anyone would have the cajones to sell fake pieces at this location during Market, but who knows?
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I don’t understand. You think she bought a fake Calvin Begay from Calvin Begay himself? 
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Believe me, @Ziacat. This isn’t at all implausible, and I likely know the store(s) in which this was happening. I honestly don’t think most would believe the extent to which this element has embedded itself in the Native Arts and Crafts world over the last half century, the extent to which they have taken over entire portions of the market, and the enormous amounts of money that is being made defrauding consumers. It’s truly shocking once one begins to understand the breadth and depth of this massive ongoing fraud,
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Sorry for the confusion…when we were there, Calvin actually said some of the pieces in the shop were not his, but wouldn’t sat whose they were. The cuff she purchased may well be his work, but unfortunately, when shops carry a large volume of “Calvin Begay” jewelry, which was the case here, I’m of the opinion it’s likely there may be fakes. So buyer beware!
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Okay. I thought you said she bought it directly from him.
I do at at least partially understand the situation with fakes; my nephew as an agent in ABQ worked on the tail end of the Al Zuni case, so I heard quite a bit about it (it’s so disheartening and disturbing). But, wow. Sounds like it will be a neverending problem.
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Thanks for explicit info @mmrogers. You crossed all the Ts and dotted all the I(s).
@Ziacat, yes Calvin was there and showed her the cuff when she explained what she was looking for. The whole situation had a strange feel and as it typical in these shops, he reduced the price quite a bit when she showed interest. But, the actual payment went to the shop!
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What an interesting story. I would have been uncomfortable with this purchase as well. Was the bracelet in question actually stamped for Calvin Begay? There are a lot of shady stores in Santa Fe, and some of them are very high end, mixing authentic pieces with fakes and charging high prices for all of them, which adds to confusion. I have personally been shocked at how intertwined these dishonest stores are with the legitimate Native arts community. For examples, stores which are widely known to market high priced fakes to tourists have advertised in the official SWAIA program. Why SWAIA would accept ads from these businesses is beyond me. Likewise I know of a very high end gallery that is known to misrepresent their turquoise (the owner has connections to Chinese mines) that has an artist’s show every year during Indian market. Very well known artists are present at the show for meet and greets and to promote their work which is sold by the gallery. They also have sponsored Native street performers outside the store to help advertise the gallery.
If some of the pieces in the store were not Calvin’s but in the same style, if they were legitimate the store should have been very up front about who they were by and they should have been marked appropriately. I think another thing to keep in mind is that although most of the NA jewelers we know are individual artisans who design and hand fabricate each piece themselves (or with the help of a few family members), a few need to be thought of as designers, and Calvin Begay falls into this category. He designs the jewelry but doesn’t hand fabricate each piece himself; they are made in workshops and include machine cast or fabricated components. This accounts for the volume of his jewelry and also I think adds to some of the confusion when people don’t understand the distinction. As I understand it the known fakes on the market are shops that he used to parter with that have continued to use his designs after their partnership ended.
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I think I would stay away from that store in the future.
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So I don’t really know any of these stores in Santa Fe, because I usually don’t shop in any galleries there (mostly too pricey for me). But I often go in and look around, and I got a little bit weirded out in a few of the places right off the plaza. Something just didn’t seem right (my hubby said same).
Thanks for your detailed comment. But the shadiness of all this makes me a little bit sick to my stomach. Between this kind of crap and the online nonsense that gets passed as real, it’s very disheartening.
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I would not shop at any gallery in SF or ALB. I feel like they misrepresent and the prices are ridiculous.
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There are several SF galleries that I trust for quality and authenticity, businesses that have earned their reputations for being knowledgeable and on the level. I don’t love the prices sometimes, sure, but then long term I also don’t find myself regretting, or thinking I was misled. What I bought five or ten or twenty years ago now appears to have been fair market pricing, just numbers I didn’t like looking at.
As we know, prices have gone up a lot for the better pieces.
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Yeah you definitely won’t get a bargain at any gallery in Santa Fe, but like @chicfarmer there are several that have my full trust and some of them are among my very favorite places to shop. But you do have to know where to go.
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