Belt of Seven Oval Silver Conchos Circa 1920's

Navajo

About The Belt of Seven Oval Silver Conchos Circa 1920's

Ingot silver of coin purity and higher was hand-crank mill rolled to create heavy gauge sheet for the conchos and buckle.  Silver wire was hand drawn for the buckle tongue bar and tongue.  Straps of copper ingot were soldered--one each to the interior back of each concho for fastening to the brown harness leather belt strap.

All the repousse and decorative stamp work was accomplished prior to any soldering.  Repousse on the buckle is entirely free hand--to even the small radiant button accents.  There were at least 10 hand-carved steel stamps employed on the buckle alone.  A chisel outlines the repousse areas for added depth and definition.

High-domed centers were also created free hand on each of the seven (7) large oval conchos. A chisel, again, was employed where depth and definition was desired.  Fine stamped decoration was accomplished throughout the creative process.  There were at least five (5) hand cut steel stamps created for the conchos alone.

This belt falls into 2nd Phase category on many counts by the two that stand out most rest in execution.  Repousse is entirely free hand chased, without the help of a male/female die.  Fabrication was done with a "universal" hard solder without benefit of a commercial flux or contemporary torch.  Leather strap is a replacement for the original.

About Navajo

"Dineh or Diné are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.  They are the second largest federally recognized tribe in the United States with over 300,000 enrolled tribal members as of 2015.  The Navajo reservation occupies over 27,000 square miles of land in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.  Navajo language is spoken throughout the reservation with most Navajos speaking English as well." excerpted from Wikipedia

 

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Cultures

American Indian, Navajo

Medium

Jewelry

Subject

Keywords

Navajo concho belt, silver concho belt, vintage concho belt