A Return to the Land of Buttons

A few years ago, we were lucky enough to be able to offer the Jay Evetts collection of Indian silver buttons and dress ornaments. It was the finest private collection of its type, put together over a span of 35 years by one of the most respected traders in the business. The finest examples from the collection have long since passed into private and museum hands, and it is not likely that we will ever see their like again.

Here's Jay, in all his glory.

The only way to find buttons and ornaments of that quality is to wait for them to come out of nowhere, which never happens, or to see if some of Jay's pieces come back on the market. That is what has happened, and we are again proud to offer three incredibly fine pairs from his collection. These were among the best pieces he had, and were sold before the collection was offered publicly in Santa Fe--making them completely fresh to the market.

The pair on the right is the largest and most "typical" of the three pairs--it is a large and very well-made pair of moccasin buttons, circa 1930. Each button is 2 13/16" in diameter, which is at the upper end size-wise for Navajo buttons.

Here is a closer view of the pair, showing the marvelous stampwork edges and repousse sunburst design in the middle. The turquoise are a wonderful pale blue with just a hint of black matrix. It is one of the finest pairs of large buttons from that era known to exist, and was one of the highlights of his collection. $1600 with custom stand (KN MH/006)

The center pair are not true buttons, but rather dress ornaments. The only difference between ornaments and buttons to the Navajo, who did not use buttons in the traditional sense, was the number of sew loops on the back--buttons had one in the center, while ornaments had two or more on the back. Both were used purely for decoration, especially when they were this large.

Each ornament is 2 1/4" high, and nicely decorated with stampwork and repousse. They date to circa 1930, and include some absolutely gorgeous Lone Mountain turquoise. Of all the pieces in Jay's collection, this pair contained the finest turquoise. $1500 with custom stand (KN MH/007)

Finally, the most dramatic of the three pairs. Technically, they are ornaments because of the pair of sew loops on the back, but the distinction is not important. What is important is the incredible quality of the silverwork.

By style and technique, this pair can be attributed to the Goodluck family, and are the only attributable ornaments in the entire collection. The quality of the work is absolutely incredible, and the scale of the ornaments (2 1/2" high) is quite imposing. They would look at home on a top quality concho belt, but there is no evidence that they were ever made as anything other than a pair of ornaments. They date to circa 1940, and are SOLD with custom stand. (KN MH/003)

For those of you who are looking for something slightly smaller in Navajo buttons, we have the collection below, all of which were collected at the Oljato Trading Post in Utah before 1940. Prices on them vary, but range from $10 up to $100 for the largest and most elaborate. If any interest you, give us a call and we can pick some out for you.

Every picture tells a story, some more than one.

We've handled a lot of squash blossom necklaces over the years, ranging in quality from the ridiculous (we try to keep those to a minimum) to the sublime. Tens of thousands of them were made, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, and it has become the one thing that springs to mind when people think of Indian jewelry. The basic configuration has remained unchanged for over a century--silver beads and 3 or 4 petal blossoms, with a naja at the bottom. Some have no turquoise at all, some have turquoise set in the naja, and some have turquoise all over. The differences lie in the details, and it is often impossible to see what makes one better than another until you actually hold and compare the two.

We aren't good enough at this internet thing for you to be able to hold a piece through the computer, but using a lot of close-up photos is a pretty good substitute. And with this particular squash blossom necklace, every picture has something very interesting to say.

Here is N 1705, a Navajo squash blossom necklace from circa 1905-1915. At first glance, the most unusual thing about it is the crosspiece with three set turquoise above the naja. An unusual feature, to be sure, but there is a lot more to learn from this piece.

If you look closely at the stones on the ends of the naja's arms, you can see that the bezel looks a bit wrinkled. In other pieces of this age, the bezel would have notches cut out so that the thin silver could be folded over the stone. This smith cut in some notches, but made them very small, so from a distance the bezel appears to be one of the smooth bezels that Navajo smiths learned to make ten years later. The other four stones have bezels that look even smoother and better done, but on close inspection each bezel has a little nick or imperfection that allowed the smith to smooth out the silver--still, they are more skillfully done than the two at the terminals, which leaves open the possibility that the crosspiece and the stone drop in the middle were added on to the naja a few years after it was originally made. We can't say for sure, but it was not at all uncommon for Navajo jewelry to be modified to fit the changing tastes of the owner, who was probably a relative of the smith.

From the reverse, you can see some really interesting things about the naja. First, the tri-wires
are clearly hand-drawn (note the unevenness of the flat surfaces). Second, the thin wire set in the middle is not actual ropework, as would be expected in a piece from the 1920s or later. Instead, it is a single wire that is smooth on the back, which means that the "twisting" pattern on the front was done by scoring with a chisel or file. Not easy to do, especially with such a thin wire. And finally, the label on the back is some sort of collection number, most likely from a museum. It could have been left to a museum in 1965 (hence the "65" at the beginning) and then deaccessioned later on. Since many museums started life as large private collections, and were run as such up until very recent times, it is not surprising or uncommon to find pieces that show signs of being part of one at one time or another. Though this necklace is of museum quality, a local historical society or non-Indian museum would have no use for a piece like this and would deaccession it to raise funds for more appropriate acquisitions.

Here is a closer look at the faux ropework on the front of the naja. Notice how when it is viewed up-close, the irregular spacing of the notches becomes clear.

The other interesting part of the necklace is the beads and blossoms. Towards the bottom, here is how they appear:

The beads have raised seams in the middle which have been filed flat. The round part of the blossoms shows less of a raised seam, which means thay could have been done by a different smith. Oddly, the flat part of the blossoms is untouched on one edge, but notched on the other.

When you go higher up the string of beads, you see a change (which I marked with an arrow).

The higher beads (on the left) are slightly smaller and rounder. At some point, probably pretty early in its life, this necklace either broke and was restrung with some smaller beads, or was lengthened (quite a bit) with the smaller beads. The small beads are quite old and well-done, and it is a time-honored tradition among the Navajo to maintain their necklaces by restringing them when necessary, so it only adds another chapter to the interesting history of the piece. Also, two of the blossoms are missing a petal, with only two instead of the original three. We don't know exactly what happened along the road, but clearly this is a piece that has had an eventful life.

The necklace has a straight length of 28", and the naja is 2 9/16" wide. The special internet price on it is SOLD. If you have any questions about it, please give us a call.

The answer to a common question

After "Can I use the bathroom?" and "What's your dog's name?" the most commonly asked question in our gallery is "Which piece is the oldest?" When our entire inventory is taken into account, the answer is this:

It is an Iroquois beaded bag that dates to circa 1820, and since the Navajo weren't producing metal jewelry at that time, none of our silver can match that. But if you limit the selection to jewelry, here is the winner:

This pair of copper hoops has a very interesting history. Most of our pieces come from private collections where they were appreciated and treasured. Sometimes, they weren't understood, but the owners at least knew they were around. With this pair of earrings, neither was the case. They were found in a drawer, in a very interesting location--Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Fort Huachuca dates back to 1877, which is probably about when these earrings were made. The fort is not in Navajo country, but it is certainly in Apache country, and trade between the Apaches and Navajo, both willing and unwilling, was extremely common in the 19th Century.
The copper wire hangers are recent additions, of course.

The wire has clearly been hand-worked--note the "seam" visible in the photo above at about 7 o'clock. There is also pitting that is consistent with someone working copper in a somewhat crude fashion.

Items like this can be very difficult to date, but the hand-worked character of these hoops, coupled with the wear and filework you can see on the ends, make anything other than a 1865-1880 date unlikely. The collection history also makes a 20th Century date nearly impossible, because Indian trade at the fort (which is not exactly located in a bustling population center, even by Arizona standards) would have been essentially shut down in the 20th Century.

Here is the earrings without the hanging wires. You can see the tapering ends, very characteristic of early hoop earrings. For anyone interested in wearable history, this pair of earrings is a real treasure. They are just over 1 1/4" in diameter, and actually are
more of a coppery color than shows in the photos. Their price is $895.

If you have any questions about them, please give us a call at (480) 423-8777. We are very proud of them--they are some of the earliest we have seen. To see another pair of early copper earrings, go to page 103 of the Frank and Holbrook book for a hammered pair in the Fred Harvey collection at the Heard Museum. There are also many examples of similar hoops done in silver throught the book.

The Final Piece of the Month for 2010

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water--the Piece of the Month is back.

This is a bracelet that I've been dying to feature for quite a while, because it has some things that require careful study (and detailed photos).

This is B TD/22, which on the surface is a very fine example of a Navajo row bracelet on twisted wire, circa 1920. It has excellent weight (84 grams, which as those of you who have read the latest Steve's Insider Info already know is a good weight for a piece from this era).

The stones are slightly domed cabs, not as high as you usually see in pieces from the 1920s. In fact, some of the stones look more like the nearly flat ones seen on pieces from circa 1910. And when you look closely, there is something else:

If you look carefully at the circled stones, you can see that they seem to have bezels within bezels. The outer bezels are relatively smooth, while the inner ones are serrated.

In all, 5 of the 9 stones have this double bezel. Technically, there is no reason for the smith to have done this--unless he was using previously set stones from an earlier piece. It is a great example of Navajo recycling, where an earlier item would be re-used in another way. It happens with turquoise beads set into bracelets or rings, and here it looks like stones were taken from an earlier bracelet and re-set on to this one.

Maybe the original bracelet broke beyond repair, or maybe the smith just needed the stones to complete this bracelet and didn't like the look of the earlier piece. Whatever the case, it makes this one of the more interesting bracelets we have ever owned.

The inside size is 5 7/8" with a 1" opening. It wears small, because it is shaped more round than other bracelets, but it can be re-shaped to fit. It would fit into any collection, because it is both a great example of the type and highly unusual. The special New Year's price is $1750.

We love talking about interesting pieces, so please give us a call with any questions.

A Holiday look at...us.

I usually take this space to highlight new acquisitions and share some of our knowledge and opinions about old Indian art, but this time I thought it might be good to actually introduce ourselves to those of you who haven't actually met us. We've had the opportunity to speak with most of our clients, but there are some people that know us from the website and our email address, so I'd just like to put a face on the names for you.

This is Max. He's 14, and lives with Tom and Deborah.

And here is Lily, who is 16 and lives with Steve and his family. Steve's other two dogs, Jasper and Riley, don't usually come to the gallery, but Max and Lily can be found there on most days hunting down chewy treats and keeping everyone safe from tennis balls.

These are the illustrious co-founders of TMT, Tom and Deborah Begner. We got this photo in one take.

And here's Steve Begner, the one responsible for the website and this blog. This was not the first take for this picture, and photo editing was used heavily.

From all of us at Turkey Mountain Traders, Happy Holidays and a joyful and prosperous New Year. The next blog post will have things rather than people, we promise.

To Chee or Not to Chee

Sorry about the title. Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll be okay.

Among serious collectors of American Indian silver, few artists bring out such opposite reactions as Mark Chee. Those who love him point to his incredibly solid silverwork and bold styling, as well as the outstanding turquoise he normally would use. Those who aren't so crazy about him call his pieces overly heavy, and point to some of his pieces that are, shall we say, not quite so successful from an artistic point of view. He was prone to bad days at the bench, certainly, so all of his pieces were definitely not created equal.

Still, when he had his A game working, he was an extremely skillful smith who used some of the best turquoise and thickest silver available. His preference for leaving the turquoise in more natural shapes is quite different from the finely shaped stones used by people like Peshlakai, and the sheer carat weight of his stones was far beyond that of any other prominent smith of his day.

Here is a bracelet that shows all that is good about Chee's work:


Our gram scale tops out at 120 grams, and this piece is heavier than that. I would guess around 140 grams, which for any other smith would be gargantuan. For Chee, it's about average for one of his row bracelets on tri-wires. The stone is beautifully matrixed Royston with a bluish-green tinge, all five pieces being very nicely matched. It was made somewhere between 1950 and 1975--Chee had a long career, so dating his pieces can be tricky.


The bracelet was a gift from the noted Indian Art dealer Lovena Ohl to a family member as a 16th birthday present almost 30 years ago. Ohl was renowned for her discerning eye for quality, and she certainly upheld her standards with this piece. The stampwork is clean, and the shaping of the stones, while variable, is still very much balanced from side to side.






As always, one of the best things about this bracelet is the hallmark--Chee's typical "fat eagle" hallmark is one of the most distinctive in the business.






Everything there is to love about Chee's work, with none of his defects (except for the heavy weight, which is only bad if you like your bracelets to be feathery and light). The inside size is 5 5/16" with a 1 1/4" opening, so it fits small to medium women's wrists. It is 1 5/8" wide at its widest, and tapers down to 15/16" at the ends. The price is SOLD, and it would be perfect for any collector who is looking for an exemplary piece of his work.


If you have any questions about this piece or Chee's work in general, please give us a call.

We wish there were more of these in the world, but there aren't.

Today, let's look at one of the most special things we have ever had the privilege of handling. Not the most expensive, certainly, but possibly the rarest.



These are Navajo tab earrings. Turquoise tab earrings are not at all uncommon, though ones of this age (circa 1890-1920) are rare treasures. They are pump-drilled, as can be seen in both photos--the person doing the drilling started on one side and drilled out a conical hole, then turned the stone over and drilled through from the other side. It is much more time-consuming to do it this way than to use an electric drill, which produced an evenly round hole. Very few pump-drilled beads were made after the widespread introduction of power tools after World War II, for obvious reasons. The copper wire wrap was done early (possibly not original, because it is very possible that these tabs started life on a necklace, but definitely original to their use as earrings). The half-dome buttons with the earring posts are recent additions, but the buttons are at least as old as the tabs.



Beyond the age, beauty and size (the tabs are 13/16" long, and the total hanging length of the earrings is 1 1/2"), these are the only old tab earrings we have ever seen that are made of azurite. Azurite is, according to Wikipedia, "a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits." With the profusion of copper deposits in the Southwest, it is understandable that some would end up in Navajo jewelry, and there are contemporary pieces that incorporate this mineral. But historically it is rare, like the garnets that show up (very infrequently) in old pieces. Since it was not mined commercially like turquoise, maybe that can be explained by a simple lack of supply. Whatever the reason, this pair is the only one we have seen.








The provenance is rather nice, as well--they came from the estate of Larry Frank, the well-known collector and author of INDIAN SILVER JEWELRY OF THE SOUTHWEST 1868-1930. Larry was legendary for his dogged pursuit of the rare and important in old Indian silverwork, as anyone who knew him can attest, and these certainly fit the bill. We were very lucky to acquire them, and we offer them with great pride. SOLD.

Please call or email with any questions.