Hopi
American Southwest
1960s
Sterling silver
Height 2 1/4 inches, width 3 inches, 78.11 grams
Provenance: Larry Frank, Taos, New Mexico
This oval buckle is worked in sterling silver overlay, with a masked face cut through the top layer to reveal a darkened and textured ground beneath. The face carries a stepped rectangular mouth panel, two rectangular eyes with dot markings below, and a small round element at the chin, topped by a headdress of upright feather forms fanning across the upper half. A fringed band runs along the lower edge of the face, and the whole design sits inside an oval rope border with fans of radiating stamped rays at the top and bottom. The upper silver stays bright while the recessed ground reads deep and matte, giving the mask its contrast. The reverse is a plain silver sheet carrying a faint hallmark and retains its hook and bar hardware for a belt.
Larry Frank was a collector and scholar of Southwestern and Spanish Colonial art based in Taos, New Mexico. He was the co-author of Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868 to 1930, published in 1978, and New Kingdom of the Saints: Religious Art of New Mexico, 1780 to 1907, published in 1992, both standard references in their fields.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hopi
American Southwest
1960s
Sterling silver
Height 2 1/4 inches, width 3 inches, 78.11 grams
Provenance: Larry Frank, Taos, New Mexico
This oval buckle is worked in sterling silver overlay, with a masked face cut through the top layer to reveal a darkened and textured ground beneath. The face carries a stepped rectangular mouth panel, two rectangular eyes with dot markings below, and a small round element at the chin, topped by a headdress of upright feather forms fanning across the upper half. A fringed band runs along the lower edge of the face, and the whole design sits inside an oval rope border with fans of radiating stamped rays at the top and bottom. The upper silver stays bright while the recessed ground reads deep and matte, giving the mask its contrast. The reverse is a plain silver sheet carrying a faint hallmark and retains its hook and bar hardware for a belt.
Larry Frank was a collector and scholar of Southwestern and Spanish Colonial art based in Taos, New Mexico. He was the co-author of Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868 to 1930, published in 1978, and New Kingdom of the Saints: Religious Art of New Mexico, 1780 to 1907, published in 1992, both standard references in their fields.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
