13ozt TRUDY PARKER Navajo CONCHO BELT TUFA CAST Sterling Silver TURQUOISE buckle

  

"Ketoh" (Archers Wrist Guard) Design. With 12 Rectangular Kingman Arizona Mine Turquoise. 11 Conchos + 1 Belt Buckle.

2.4" X 1.55". 2.5" X 1.9". Excellent Unused Condition Black Leather Belt is 46.0 long. It is 1.4 wide.

It is not set up now, as no holes have ever been made in the belt. It would most easily and commonly accommodate a waist of about 38"-44" (Maximum) waist right now by just adding holes in the belt for the best fit. T may be modified to accommodate a smaller waist by adding an additional hole. Or for below about 36, perhaps removing one of the Conchas. You can have that done locally at a leather shop or shoe repair facility...

Or, I can do that for you. 434.6 grams = 13.97 Troy ounces Total Weight. Trudy Parker signed Navajo Tufa Cast Sterling Silver Belt Buckle. His Excellent Condition Concho Belt was made by a talented Navajo artist using the Molton Sterling Silver Tufa Casting Technique to create a very beautiful Belt Buckle.

It demonstrates the classical traditional skills in both design and jewelry construction. Trudy has used rectangular Kingman Mine Turquoise in each of the rectangular "Ketoh" shaped Sterling Silver pieces. This Concho Belt looks to be unused and only has the type of surface scuffing associated with being displayed at a shop or in a collection. There are no dents, cracks, or noticeable scratches, etc. In the Sterling Silver Conchos or Buckle. Take a close look with the magnifier on the picture program. As you may already know Tufa Casting is a very laborious and even dangerous process of making silver jewelry that was developed late in the 19th century by the Navajo. It is similar to traditional sand casting but uses ancient compressed volcanic ash (Tufa) as the mold in which hot molten Silver is poured. Because of thermal shock it is typical that the Tufa mold can only be used once. After the piece is cooled, the "real work" of filing and polishing begins. Because of the factors mentioned, Navajo Tufa Cast Jewelry is relatively rare and becoming more so all the time. The technique lends a charm to anything produced and is appreciated by knowledgeable collectors of Native Jewelry. In the 1959 publication "Indian Silverwork Of The Southwest, Illustrated" author Harry P Mera has provided us with the definitive guide to the origins, history, and techniques used by Native American jewelers.

Later on, when, through experience, easily worked fine-grained stones were selected (those capable of retaining clean cut impressions) ornamental casting finally came into its own. Materials of this sort, because of their friability, are apt to break down under the heat to which they are subjected so that, at best, a very limited number of castings could be made from and average mold, often, only one. After an object is cast, a great deal of work with files and other abrasives is required to obtain a satisfactory finish. " Indeed, the "clean up and finishing of the crude Sterling Silver article after is it liberated from the Tufa mold is an enormous and messy task!

The design of the Tufa Cast Silver work as seen in the buckle is what most collectors would generally call Classical Revival. This is a beautiful Concho Belt Set that demonstrates the art of the Tufa Casting technique.

I hope you are pleased with what you see.. As the Navajo say, "Walk in Beauty". I thank You and look forward to sharing a good experience!

"AMERICAN INDIAN JEWELRY I" - Gregory Schaaf - Page 80. "AMERICAN INDIAN JEWELRY II: A-L" - Page.

"HALLMARKS OF THE SOUTHWEST"- Barton Wright - Page 31. THE LITTLE BOOK OF SOUTHWESTERN SILVER - Billie Hougart - Page 56. "ZUNI JEWELRY" - Theda and Michael Bassman.

"ZUNI THE ART AND THE PEOPLE VOLUMES 1-3" - Barbara & Ed Bell- Volume. "KNIFEWING AND RAINBOW MAN IN ZUNI JEWELRY".

"INDIAN SILVERWORK OF THE SOUTHWEST, ILLUSTRATED VOLUME ONE" - Pages 22, 57,87, +.