Navajo, Southwest
1910
Sterling silver, turquoise, leather
Ten conchos, each 3 1/4 inches by 4 1/2 inches (8.3 by 11.4 cm)
Buckle 2 3/4 inches by 4 1/2 inches (7 by 11.4 cm)
Belt length 46 inches (116.8 cm)
937.90 grams
Provenance: Private collection, Cheyenne, Wyoming
The belt carries ten large scalloped conchos on the original leather strap, each worked in repoussé with a raised domed center and a border of deep chisel stamping in feather, arc, and dot motifs beneath a scalloped edge. The buckle spreads to four and a half inches with lobed wings rising to either side of the open center, densely stamped across its full face and set with two turquoise cabochons in blue with brown matrix. Copper loops on the reverse carry the leather beneath each plaque, the third phase construction that replaced the slotted centers of earlier belts and freed the whole face of the concho for design.
At nearly 940 grams this is among the heaviest belts of its type, and the scale of the conchos at four and a half inches is unusual even for the period. Belts of this kind were made as wearable wealth, held as savings and worn on occasions of importance, and the weight of silver carried on the body was itself the statement. The leather is original and worn dark, and the silver holds a deep patina from a century of handling.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Navajo, Southwest
1910
Sterling silver, turquoise, leather
Ten conchos, each 3 1/4 inches by 4 1/2 inches (8.3 by 11.4 cm)
Buckle 2 3/4 inches by 4 1/2 inches (7 by 11.4 cm)
Belt length 46 inches (116.8 cm)
937.90 grams
Provenance: Private collection, Cheyenne, Wyoming
The belt carries ten large scalloped conchos on the original leather strap, each worked in repoussé with a raised domed center and a border of deep chisel stamping in feather, arc, and dot motifs beneath a scalloped edge. The buckle spreads to four and a half inches with lobed wings rising to either side of the open center, densely stamped across its full face and set with two turquoise cabochons in blue with brown matrix. Copper loops on the reverse carry the leather beneath each plaque, the third phase construction that replaced the slotted centers of earlier belts and freed the whole face of the concho for design.
At nearly 940 grams this is among the heaviest belts of its type, and the scale of the conchos at four and a half inches is unusual even for the period. Belts of this kind were made as wearable wealth, held as savings and worn on occasions of importance, and the weight of silver carried on the body was itself the statement. The leather is original and worn dark, and the silver holds a deep patina from a century of handling.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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