So since I am home today with a minor case of flu, I thought I would finally repost this buckle with some of my thoughts on it, and see what you all think.
Dad bought it in '71 in Laramie, WY, and was told it was by Dan Simplicio (the info that I have from the store says that). Dad also wrote down that someone at the Buffalo Bill Museum on the same trip recognized it as his. Now I seriously have my doubts. I inherited it from him after he passed away in '81, but I never really bothered to find out information back then, because I wasn’t overly interested (teenager ). Years later I learned to love Native American Jewelry, and started trying to learn about it, because in many stores I visited out west people would say, oh that’s an Effie. I had researched enough to know it wasn’t one of hers, and I don’t really think it looks like it. Several places (for example, someone at the Heard Museum) said it could be a Simplicio. But in the last few years I’ve seen work by Juan Calavaza that looks a whole lot like this buckle. I believe it possibly has Morenci turquoise, and I thought it had a hallmark on the back, but a number of knowledgeable shop owners in the southwest said it looks to just be a mark from the casting. The stones appear to be slightly worked, and I believe it to be Zuni (for numerous reasons from what I learned about it as I researched). There has been some color change in the stones, and I love the way the snake rises slightly off the buckle in places.
As I researched, I came across a lot of Juan Calavaza pieces that really remind me of this buckle. Here are a couple. The second pic is from an article on the Perry Null website on snake jewelry. The buckle in third pic has the same type of bar on the back. I just didn’t screenshot that.
I also read that he occasionally did not sign his pieces, and that a number of his buckles had a similar hinged bar.
Thank you for any help; this buckle is really what started me on my Native American Jewelry path. My father loved it dearly and wore it a lot - even to work with a suit.
I recall this buckle @Ziacat, and your desire to learn more. I’m no expert, and am probably not bringing to light anything you don’t already know, but I’ve got some thoughts. Comparing your buckle to the signed Calavaza buckle below, many similarities are made apparent. This buckle has an older, hand made swivel, but just about everything else jives.
The shape of the heads are similar, and the stamps embellishing both snake’s bodies appear very similar. These appearing to be a stamp with four circles, spaced and stamped a distance apart. I’d be interested in @mmrogers’ opinion of this. Both buckles present with this, in my opinion. Your father’s buckle looks to have had much wear time, as the rattle portion of the snake’s body is evident, but very worn The signed buckle has similar work performed, but much less worn.
The working of the stones is present on both, and I would be inclined to agree with you that yours is Zuni.
Thanks for pointing all those things out; I had noticed some of them, but not all. And here is a picture of the back of the one from Brown’s Trading, which is a reputable store. Am I right in thinking this is similar to the bar on mine?
Here is my “reputable” question. I thought the hinged design to attach the belt did not appear that early (1950s). I think I recall @mmrogers stating in another post that the hinged variety use started around the 70s. (Feel free to correct me Mike)
He passed in 1969. The more I look at it I don’t think it’s a Simplicio. I read that bars can possibly be replaced, so maybe the one that says it’s 1950’s had that done. Juan was his nephew.
So this is one gorgeous and special buckle, without doubt. The attribution is a little tricky, though I am persuaded that it is Zuni and most likely came from the radius of the Calavaza/Simplicio family. A complicating factor: the “Simplicio” design vocabulary–including applique–was shared quite freely in Zuni among the makers, leaving open the possibility of it being work by someone connected by kin–or not.
A significant, telling example on attribution is the border, or outside edges. Normally for the Simplicio folks there’s stamping (with circle punches and such), radiating lines, and undulating radiating lines. But I’m not sure I’ve seen a “plain” undecorated outer edge like yours that appears in a definite way within this group.
Final thought: Dan Simplicio Jr. is alive and online–he could take a look and give an opinion. I’ve spoken to him on the phone and have emailed; he’s really knowledgeable about the less known, unpublished aspects of Dan S’s career.
@chicfarmer, thanks for the info, I know it is really difficult/impossible to nail down. The details look so much like the other Calavaza buckles, that I decided it was worth asking you all.
Is he on Facebook or Instagram? I’m not on either one of those.
@StevesTrail, perhaps you’re referring to the commercially available hinges? Thinner, one piece, die formed swivel mounts and narrower gauge wire for the bar? Concerning the hand wrought example on the buckle I posted from Mudhead Gallery, I have seen those on earlier (than 70’s) buckles. @TAH certainly will have some thoughts, and I’d be interested in @mmrogers’ input as well.
@Ziacat, you nailed it. I know it can be common practice to replace a damaged, older, fixed bar or hand made swivels with the commercially available versions, throwing off initial dating to eyes less experienced.
@chicfarmer, thank you for chiming in with your valuable knowledge, you raise great points.
I did notice the border doesn’t have any stamping. The only thing I could find online buy Juan Calavaza that didn’t have stamping was this bolo. But it’s not quite the same style.
Thanks to everyone for all the info! I have very little memory of Dad buying it, and the store has since closed. He had very specific information written down from the shop, but we all know stores can be wrong.
The commercial hinges showed up in the 70’s, @StevesTrail. Most native work prior to that had fixed brackets, but handmade hinges have been around for millennia, and I’m not at all surprised to see a handmade hinge pre-dating the 70’s.
I really do appreciate this discussion. Next week is the 44th anniversary of my dad’s death (I didn’t realize that when I started this thread), so it seems appropriate to try to learn a little more about it. I did just email Dan Simplicio Jr. I’ll let you all I’ll know if and when I hear something back.
All I know about commercial hinge bars is what Mike has said and from this blog post by Jim Olson, whose research says the commercia hinge bar started popping up in the late 1960s.
I also know I have seen many, many Native made buckles with commercial swivel bars dated earlier than the late 1960s by very reputable galleries. Hard to believe all of these pre-late 1960s buckles had their solid bar attachment replaced, but perhaps that is what happened.
). Years later I learned to love Native American Jewelry, and started trying to learn about it, because in many stores I visited out west people would say, oh that’s an Effie. I had researched enough to know it wasn’t one of hers, and I don’t really think it looks like it. Several places (for example, someone at the Heard Museum) said it could be a Simplicio. But in the last few years I’ve seen work by Juan Calavaza that looks a whole lot like this buckle. I believe it possibly has Morenci turquoise, and I thought it had a hallmark on the back, but a number of knowledgeable shop owners in the southwest said it looks to just be a mark from the casting. The stones appear to be slightly worked, and I believe it to be Zuni (for numerous reasons from what I learned about it as I researched). There has been some color change in the stones, and I love the way the snake rises slightly off the buckle in places.
The signed buckle has similar work performed, but much less worn.
I’m not on Facebook either, and I sort of forget how I tracked him down. 
