Hello friends in turquoise! I recently purchased this watch cuff from a special friend who I bought my very first piece of turquoise from. I fell in love with it because it is a smaller cuff and it has a little bit of everything going on: rug pattern inlay, pretty stones, a “whale tail” fan with interesting stamping. There is a hallmark, and I’ve found one that looks close, but it shows a JF instead of a JE. It’s signed Delma Tsosie, whom sadly I’ve found no information on. And below the signature it says “Rock Point, T.P.” Is that the name of a trading post? There are so many clues but I have no leads! I also would like to know how to put a watch or small coin in it. There are two pins sticking straight up under the watch fans to work with. Thank you for any help you can lend to solve the mysteries hidden within this piece! Learning is my favorite part of collecting
I was thinking I had driven once near Rock Point AZ on the Navajo Rez. Here ya go…
If you Google it you can find more. Sorry these are just screenshots.
I have a great trading post guidebook and Rock Point Trading Post is not in it, so it much not have a lot of Native art for sale.
Here’s a better map.
Very interesting piece, and beautiful iris!
Thank you so much @Ziacat ! I knew one of you worldly travelers may have stumbled across it. That really narrows things down as to where it may have originated. I’ll definitely check out their FB page!
You are welcome. My hubby and I drove by there years ago after camping in Canyon De Chelly on our way to camp at Monument Valley. Google Rock Point, AZ, not just the Trading Post, and you will see what a beautiful area your cuff came from.
I am not just a turquoise-aholic, I am also a mapaholic! I have a very weird talent of being able to picture directions in my head, and can almost always tell you which is North
Sorry I can’t help with the artist. But maybe Perry Null would be able to put a watch in it for you.
This is an interesting article on Trading Posts.
Thank you for your insight @Ziacat , that was an interesting read! I must be an old soul because it’s a shame that way of living has given way to ordering goods online and front door delivery. Maybe that’s why I love the flea markets so much. It enables me the ability to chat with people, network and learn things!
Years ago Northern Arizona University did oral interviews of trading post owners, here is the one for Rock Point.
https://library.nau.edu/speccoll/exhibits/traders/oralhistories/blair-m.html
That’s fascinating, thank you Jason. I am going to have to try to look up the others, especially those about the posts I’ve visited.
The part about the sheep crossing the road made me laugh. One time we were in WY on a not very back road, it was not far off the interstate, and we had to stop to let a sheep hearder take his sheep across. There were hundreds of them.
How interesting! Thank you, Jason, for the link to this website. I’ll be spending time on it, for sure.
So a little over a year and a half ago we adopted a kitty. I was trying to come up with a name for her, and I googled “what is Navajo for cat” and it came up mosi. It also said mosi yazzie means little cat. So we named her Mosi, and sometimes I call her Mosi Yazzie. So… I was looking through the photos in the article I linked above, and guess what I found!
I want that rug
Awww…. How cool is that? Nice Ziacat
Thank you @Jason ! It’s so cool to get a glimpse of the past like that. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong century!