REAL Native American Jewelry~

[jellyv]

I bought 2 extremely cool necklaces from an artist named Kit Carson (yes!) He has western desert spirit to his work, even though he and his work is not NA. You can see his site at kitcarsonjewelry.com i "think" is the site, ..

Wow, that is some attractive jewelry! Very organic and interesting, though much of it seems unique to the artist vs. connected to NA inspiration. BTW this artist is gutsy to use that name unless it's the real given name--the historical associations of KC are awful, from the Native perspective (though back in the day we only learned the "hero" part).

I do feel that work of this type deserves a separate thread, so as to not confuse a casual viewer about what's what (the present thread title is deliberate). Our beloved material isn't generally understood, nor the issues involved with lookalike stuff...hence my point of view.

 

[chessmont]

Wow, that is some attractive jewelry! Very organic and interesting, though much of it seems unique to the artist vs. connected to NA inspiration. BTW this artist is gutsy to use that name unless it's the real given name--the historical associations of KC are awful, from the Native perspective (though back in the day we only learned the "hero" part).

I do feel that work of this type deserves a separate thread, so as to not confuse a casual viewer about what's what (the present thread title is deliberate). Our beloved material isn't generally understood, nor the issues involved with lookalike stuff...hence my point of view.

OK, cool. I think that is his real name...

 

[OrbitOrange]

OK, cool. I think that is his real name...

I'd love to see your jewelry and would definitely go check it out if you started a new thread. Perhaps "Southwestern Style Jewelry?" I checked out the Kit Carson website and he has some cool stuff, very unique. Although some of it is southwestern inspired even those peices don't actually remind me too much of NA jewelry. I like the Alice in Wonderland line. Agree with jelly that it's probably best to keep things as accurate as possible, especially with some of the complex issues that surround NA art.

 

[OrbitOrange]

It came! What do you guys think? The turquoise is really beautiful and unique looking. I can just barely feel where those crazes are when I run over them with my fingernail. I was worried that it might not be big enough but it's actually slightly bigger than I would ideally want it, and slides up and down my wrist a little bit. I think I can live with that though. The silver is so thick and heavy that I'm not sure I could adjust it at all.

 

[jellyv]

View attachment 4457226 It came! What do you guys think? The turquoise is really beautiful and unique looking.
actually slightly bigger than I would ideally want it, and slides up and down my wrist a little bit. I think I can live with that though. The silver is so thick and heavy that I'm not sure I could adjust it at all.

Speck. Tack. Ular. Congrats! Looks like it's oxidized for drama, is that right? Oh my. If the amount of play is only what you show in the pic as its high wrist position, I bet you'll settle in with it. Also as the weather gets warmer it'll be closer.

err.....NO it looks terrible, return right away ... so that I can sneak in and grab it.

Who created this amazing cuff, if you feel okay about sharing?

 

[OrbitOrange]

Speck. Tack. Ular. Congrats! Looks like it's oxidized for drama, is that right? Oh my. If the amount of play is only what you show in the pic as its high wrist position, I bet you'll settle in with it. Also as the weather gets warmer it'll be closer.

err.....NO it looks terrible, return right away ... so that I can sneak in and grab it.

Who created this amazing cuff, if you feel okay about sharing?

Yes, it's oxidized a little. And that's about as high as it wants to ride naturally on my arm, so not too bad. It bothers me more when it slides to my wrist and blocks my wrist flexion a bit. I'll survive though. It's an Aaron Anderson, and I got it through Bahti, which despite several trips to Santa Fe I was unaware of until your post. You're definitely an enabler! I'm looking forward to visiting them in person this summer.

 

[essiedub]

View attachment 4457226 It came! What do you guys think? The turquoise is really beautiful and unique looking. I can just barely feel where those crazes are when I run over them with my fingernail. I was worried that it might not be big enough but it's actually slightly bigger than I would ideally want it, and slides up and down my wrist a little bit. I think I can live with that though. The silver is so thick and heavy that I'm not sure I could adjust it at all.

It’s really beautiful orbitOrange! It’s delicate and substantial at the same time. (News flash: New realization...these cuffs look so much much better on the wrist than a photograph of itself .)

You must be thrilled! I am!

 

[chessmont]

Only one word: WOW!

 

[chessmont]

I'd love to see your jewelry and would definitely go check it out if you started a new thread. Perhaps "Southwestern Style Jewelry?" I checked out the Kit Carson website and he has some cool stuff, very unique. Although some of it is southwestern inspired even those peices don't actually remind me too much of NA jewelry. I like the Alice in Wonderland line. Agree with jelly that it's probably best to keep things as accurate as possible, especially with some of the complex issues that surround NA art.

Will do - only at his prices, I won't have many to show. Maybe others will discover it and chime in.

 

[jellyv]

Yes, it's oxidized a little. I got it through Bahti, which despite several trips to Santa Fe I was unaware of until your post. You're definitely an enabler! I'm looking forward to visiting them in person this summer.

Wonderful. Yep, Bahti is second gen. in the NA trade, and the Santa Fe shop is smallish but incredibly well curated (with a variety of media, not just jewelry). They work directly with the artists and get them a fair share, so they don't dicker on prices at all, I discovered. I bought my Wonder Woman Jennifer Curtis cuff there (that's what I call it, lol). By the way I'm pretty sure the Bahti SF location is where the Patania Thunderbird Shop used to be--I was trying to get to Patania, actually, and happened on Bahti. No more Thunderbird Shop in Santa Fe.

I thought the oxidizing might have been a deliberate addition of oxidization for effect rather than just silver doing its thing over time. Not so, huh? In any case, a wow of a cuff. I don't have Aaron A in my collection yet but I'm super open to it.

 

[OrbitOrange]

It’s really beautiful orbitOrange! It’s delicate and substantial at the same time. (News flash: New realization...these cuffs look so much much better on the wrist than a photograph of itself .)

You must be thrilled! I am!

Thanks! I think that delicate but substantial is a great description of it. I think that you need to make a post summarizing what you've gotten so far on your short but super intense NA jewelry journey. I'm very impressed with how committed you've been to educating yourself and how much you've learned so quickly and wish I had been as careful and diligent as you when I was first starting out. And I would love to see exactly what it's all led to!

 

[OrbitOrange]

Wonderful. Yep, Bahti is second gen. in the NA trade, and the Santa Fe shop is smallish but incredibly well curated (with a variety of media, not just jewelry). They work directly with the artists and get them a fair share, so they don't dicker on prices at all, I discovered. I bought my Wonder Woman Jennifer Curtis cuff there (that's what I call it, lol). By the way I'm pretty sure the Bahti SF location is where the Patania Thunderbird Shop used to be--I was trying to get to Patania, actually, and happened on Bahti. No more Thunderbird Shop in Santa Fe.

I thought the oxidizing might have been a deliberate addition of oxidization for effect rather than just silver doing its thing over time. Not so, huh? In any case, a wow of a cuff. I don't have Aaron A in my collection yet but I'm super open to it.

I think that an oxidizing solution has been added--that's what I meant to imply before; sorry if that wasn't clear. I'm excited to have a new place to check out in Santa Fe. That town has SO much NA jewelry, it's honestly a little overwhelming. You could literally just walk around downtown looking at jewelry all day, but there are unfortunately some shady places, so I've found that it's helpful to know ahead of time which places are reputable and high quality. Same thing with Gallup. I'm trying to compile a list of must-visit places in both towns before I go this summer (I'll be spending a day in Gallup too) so that I can make the most of my time while I'm there.

 

[jellyv]

^Oh sorry, I did misread your remark about the oxidization. Makes sense.

I can't wait to get back to Santa Fe this fall. Wish I could help with Gallup, I spent a day there once and found it confusing and disappointing, never found the right retailers.

If you could get up to Taos you'd enjoy the Millicent Rogers Museum..her collection was bananas.

 

[Compass Rose]

OrbitOrange… Such a beautiful piece! It fits you perfectly. Let it ride up and down your arm. It won't go more than an inch and it will be magnificent! I don't know how you feel about wearing bracelets over thin long sleeved tops, but that would look fabulous on a black top, and you would have the room to pull it off. Either way,there is nothing wrong with wearing it worn close to the wristbone I am truly jealous.

 

[OrbitOrange]

Here's a few more of my necklaces that I really like. The first one is a Zuni petit point choker length necklace on a handmade chain. It's by husband and wife team Rosemary and Quincy Panteah, and I think it's from the 70's or 80's. Quincy Panteah was governor of Zuni pueblo for a time in the 70's.

The next one is an 18 inch set of handmade, hand stamped beads that I picked up at a flea market. I love a good flea market find! I really like the shape of the beads and the stamping on this one. I imagine it's probably from the 70's as well, Navajo. It's not signed or marked.