Brand new member here and I’ve been fervently reading the forum all day
I’m currently taking an inventory of my jewelry for insurance purposes and am starting with my Native American sterling silver. All of these pieces were passed to me by my mother. I did ask her this evening if she could tell me anything about these pieces but her memory is quite poor. She doesn’t remember anything at all about the needlepoint turquoise and I suspect she acquired those during separate, multiple trips to New Mexico. The pin/necklace was actually a gift to me from her over 20 years ago.
The bear turquoise bracelet she thinks she bought on a trip to New Mexico. The feather cuff she said she bought from a vendor at USET many years ago. She swears she didn’t buy the matching earrings with the feather cuff bracelet so if that’s true, it’s quite fortunate that she found the feather cuff earrings elsewhere.
I am hoping to learn anything at all about the artists, the turquoise, the value, and any recommendations for repair and/or care. You can see that the needlepoint ring has some missing stones and I would love to continue wearing these with confidence that I won’t further damage them. I’ve tried googling some of the artist names but not a lot of information comes up.
I have other pieces that I will post in the next few days that I think are examples of “Native American style.”
No expert here, just an observer. YOu have some treasures here! the needlepoint hoop earring looks like QUAM, which is a Zuni family name. I think there are a number of makers, I’m sure someone will come along to help figure out which of them made your pieces. they are gorgeous! The missing stones can be replaced.
the cluster earrings marked LMB are also gorgeous! Larry Moses Begay?
The feather pieces - looks like Gatewood? Not a maker I’m familiar with. Fortunate to have found a match if they weren’t bought together.
The bear bracelet signed Leonard Platero i would have originally thought to be a Mexican piece, based on the construction - the way the bear piece attached to the bangle/closure. There are many makers named Platero, and I’m not familiar with Leonard.
Ohhhh it’s QUAM! I kept searching for DURM. The cluster earrings are real attention getters for sure. I think one of the center stones is damaged/cracked. How do I find someone who can fix/restore? Google?
Regarding the Gatewood, I just found the artist’s website along with the cuff! Gatewood feather cuff
I just had an epiphany on my ride home. I remember very clearly now that it was the bear bracelet that mom brought home from the USET conference. It was brand new when she bought it so I’m guessing the artist had a vendor booth set up. This was roughly 12 years ago.
For those who are curious, USET stands for United South and Eastern Tribes https://www.usetinc.org/
You have some really nice pieces there. The pin/pendant is marked R. Q. Panteah for Rosemary and Quincy Panteah, a Zuni couple that were active in the 70’s and 80’s. Quincy was governer of Zuni pueblo from 1982-83. I think he actually passed away around 1983 so your pendant would be no more recent than that.
The ring is definitely worth getting the stones replaced. Be sure to take it to someone who specializes in Native American jewelry and turquoise; a “regular” jeweler won’t know what they are doing. If you don’t have someone locally you can send it away. @Jason works at Perry Null and they should be able to fix it up for you. You can also PM me if you want other repair recommendations. As far as care, it’s good to check that none of the other stones are loose (make sure they don’t wiggle) and avoid getting them wet or soaps, lotions, ect. on them. And enjoy wearing them; they are beautiful!
Oh my AMD! Welcome and that is the best inheritance ever!!! Your mom has such good taste! That collection is heavenly and heavily laced with stories! I recommend getting a beautiful journal and recording each and every piece in it and writing anything you can remember and have learned from each piece. Then put pictures…real pictures of each in it and then…look through old family pics and find pictures of your mother wearing her favorite pieces…the pieces she sought out and they found her. Then…for the most important part of this journey! Show her the book and the pictures and ask her if she remembers those moments and record her story on a listening device if you can but at least write down her memories. This will be an amazing insight into her as a women, a person and finally your mother! It will be invaluable to her to because she may be able to recapture a memory or two through this process that she has lost…but can still be recovered. This is most exciting to me and to see the amazing opportunity you have here. I hope I dont sound crazy here but at the end of the day the memories and stories connected to these pieces are just as valuable if not more valuable than the pieces themselves which btw are worth a great deal of money! The suggestion to swnd them to Jason is one I highly reccomend to! Thankyou for joining our wonderful group! Say hi to your mom for us and wear her gift! The turquoise benefits the wearer and you benefit the stones by prevwnting them from drying out and wear helps the silver by rubbing against the skin and getting slightly polished over time through ware. Anyways Im on a tangent…Thanks for listening and Goodluck!
~Koliopee
I just read this about a year later. Such a good idea! My mom passed away in 2015 and I so wish I had done some of the things you suggested. But I can still go ahead and write down what I know. I only have one picture that I can remember of her wearing some of the jewelry I inherited from her. And I treasure that picture. Thank you so much for your ideas, God bless you!
The cluster earrings are real attention getters for sure. I think one of the center stones is damaged/cracked. How do I find someone who can fix/restore? Google?
