Sonny Jim's 1920's-1930's Ingot Silver Cuff 33 Cerrillos Mine Turquoise

Sterling silver ingot was hand-mill rolled into sheet and drawn into half round wire for fabrication of this cuff with 33 bezel set green Cerrillos mine, hand-cut stones.  

Design of the bracelet is like three (3) individual row bracelets, each with11 stones in smooth bezels separated by 1 mm silver drops.  Each row is terminated by a larger drop, an eagle stamp and a randiant double crescent.  The three bands are joined and framed by half round wire.  Seven (7) serpent stamps decorate these wires only at each terminal.

This snake stamp, used for decoration, was employed by Morris Robinson, when working for various traders to differentiate his work from Navajo jewelers who avoided using a snake symbol.  The outline of this stamp has the same form evolving into the signature mark with the "H" when he established his silver shop in Phoenix.

A champion rodeo cowboy, a musician, and a rancher, Sonny Jim spent his 68 years on earth continually meeting challenges and overcoming them.

Jim died Oct. 23 of gunshot wounds while assisting his friend Wayne Johnson on a ranch near San Rafael, N.M. 

He was the all-around champion cowboy in 1969 and '70, among other titles he won in the world of Native American rodeo.

Besides spending almost half a century as a rodeo cowboy, Jim toured with the Harlem Globetrotters in Asia and played in the back-up bands for country music legends like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

He also was a man of conscience, participating in the American Indian Movement in the 1970s and upholding Native American traditions and cultural practices throughout his life.

"Unknown artist" is appropriate when a work of art is unsigned and a supported opinion about who made it is not available (on Savvy Collector).. "Attributed to" precedes the name of an artist when information suggests that it likely was made by that artist (on Savvy Collector).