Navajo
Southwest
1940s
Sterling silver with turquoise
Total circumference 7 1/2 in (19.1 cm), gap 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm), width 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm); 51.70 grams
Provenance: Tucson trade
This heavy Navajo cuff by Fred Peshlakai centers an applied silver blossom holding a single turquoise cabochon, blue with fine spiderweb matrix, in a plain bezel. Around the flower, appliqué leaves, silver wire scrolls and stamped arrow and feather motifs are worked across a wide, darkened silver band. The layered appliqué and deep patina give the cuff a strong sculptural front, framed by the stamped detailing along its length.
The band is substantial at just over 51 grams, its oxidized surface setting off the raised silverwork and the single bright stone. The design shows the symmetry and careful construction for which Peshlakai is known, built up from applied elements rather than stones alone. It dates to the 1940s, from his most productive period on Olvera Street.
Fred Peshlakai, 1896 to 1974, was a Navajo silversmith widely regarded as one of the most influential of the twentieth century, the bridge between the early Navajo smiths of the 1800s and the Native modernists who followed. Born at Crystal, New Mexico, he was the son of Slender Maker of Silver and apprenticed with his father before working briefly at Maisel's Trading Post in Albuquerque. He later opened a shop on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, where he worked for nearly twenty years and became the first Native American to run his own jewelry shop in the city. He taught Kenneth Begay, known as the Father of Modern Navajo Jewelry, and was among the first to emphasize symmetry and high quality turquoise in Navajo silverwork.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Navajo
Southwest
1940s
Sterling silver with turquoise
Total circumference 7 1/2 in (19.1 cm), gap 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm), width 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm); 51.70 grams
Provenance: Tucson trade
This heavy Navajo cuff by Fred Peshlakai centers an applied silver blossom holding a single turquoise cabochon, blue with fine spiderweb matrix, in a plain bezel. Around the flower, appliqué leaves, silver wire scrolls and stamped arrow and feather motifs are worked across a wide, darkened silver band. The layered appliqué and deep patina give the cuff a strong sculptural front, framed by the stamped detailing along its length.
The band is substantial at just over 51 grams, its oxidized surface setting off the raised silverwork and the single bright stone. The design shows the symmetry and careful construction for which Peshlakai is known, built up from applied elements rather than stones alone. It dates to the 1940s, from his most productive period on Olvera Street.
Fred Peshlakai, 1896 to 1974, was a Navajo silversmith widely regarded as one of the most influential of the twentieth century, the bridge between the early Navajo smiths of the 1800s and the Native modernists who followed. Born at Crystal, New Mexico, he was the son of Slender Maker of Silver and apprenticed with his father before working briefly at Maisel's Trading Post in Albuquerque. He later opened a shop on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, where he worked for nearly twenty years and became the first Native American to run his own jewelry shop in the city. He taught Kenneth Begay, known as the Father of Modern Navajo Jewelry, and was among the first to emphasize symmetry and high quality turquoise in Navajo silverwork.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
