Love the passion and sentiment!
So true- and if I might add, attend tribal fairs and exhibitions where it’s possible to buy directly from the Native artists!!!
You get a great story, connection and you support local artists!
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@Steve A reminder that nobody seems to know if Ray Jack is someone who actually did inlay work. See upward in thread.
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the hallmark screenshot I posted is from Hougarts 5th edition
and this ring matches that hallmark
as well as this type of inlay with same mark
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The hallmark exists, the person evidently exists…but Jason noted above in this thread that the only known Navajo maker named Ray Jack, who worked with an employee of his, didn’t do inlay work, despite many pieces marked as being by him.
We all know there are hallmarks that are just really names for marketing purposes. R Jack may not be one of these, but—who’s creating inlay jewelry with that name but isn’t in fact Ray Jack? Some uncertainty.
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I have the answer! I was in my local NA seller’s shop today and was wearing the Matthew Jack ring I have that is pictured upthread here. We were talking about the artist and I asked if he was a real person and if the ring was consistent with the type of work he did. Yes…he is a real NA artist and does inlay work, and is the son of Ray Jack. They’d met and worked with/bought pieces from both him and his father, Ray (they also mentioned that Ray was deceased, which several people said here).
Doesn’t mean that there aren’t fake pieces being attributed to him and his Dad, but at least we know the artist exists and his work is active in the market.
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Interesting because I’ve been told by a reliable source that there were two different Ray Jack’s; one did inlay work and one did the micro inlay work and was also father of Mathew. I was told the maker of the micro inlay work is still living and creating pieces and it was the other Ray Jack who has passed. So much mystery surrounding this name!
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After reading about Zuni inlay, I’m wondering if my piece is a fake. Micro inlay bear by Fred Bowannie?
I don’t know nearly as much about Zuni inlay, but when I googled his work, the hallmark seems to usually have Zuni with the FB.
I know the Amerindien website isn’t always accurate, but it’s also what I saw on some of his pieces. I may be waaaay off base, but your piece seems different that what I found online, but I generally look at shops/sites other than Etsy. Seems like a lot on Etsy is mislabeled. I know there are those on here who know quite a bit about Zuni work, so hopefully they will weigh in!
Maybe another artist with FB?
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This wouldn’t be anything Fred Bowannie would have made.
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This is very very similar to a lot of phillippine imports i have seen in this same bear pendant, sorry to say.
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