Steve's Insider Info
This is where we at Turkey Mountain Traders can take the time to give our clients and friends a glimpse into how we look at the art we sell.
Every month, we'll look at one topic in depth, and readers will learn about what technical aspects are important, how we separate the good from the great, and what makes something important culturally, historically and artistically.
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This month...Weights and Measures in Old Bracelets
One of the phrases collectors often hear from dealers like us is that a piece has "good weight". It sounds good, and you certainly want a piece to have "good" weight, but what exactly is "good"? Can a piece be too heavy in the same way another piece can be too light?
To answer this question, we need to look at how Navajo silverwork has changed over the years. (To make life a bit simpler, we'll confine ourselves to bracelets.) What qualifies as "good weight" in one time period might be problematic in another era, when the economic and historical context was quite a bit different.
During the 19th Century, silver was a scarce commodity among the Navajo. Luckily, there were not very many silversmiths working before 1895, so the available silver was not spread so thinly. Early bracelets generally are of somewhat average thickness, though thinner pieces are not unknown. Extremely thick and heavy pieces should be viewed with suspicion.
This bracelet, which probably dates right around the turn of the century, is a hand-drawn silver tri-wire. Its weight is 46 grams, which is about average for a narrow bracelet of that era. Wider bands would weigh slightly more, up to around 75-80 grams.
EARLY 20TH CENTURY: MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO
WIth the increase in popularity of Navajo silver jewelry and the proliferation of good silversmiths, there developed more of a variety of pieces. In fact, while many pieces of this era match the above bracelet in heft, there were many made from thinner silver to conserve the limited supply. Herbert Schweizer brought the first sheet silver to the Southwest at this time for the Fred Harvey Company, and we all know where that led.
This bracelet is an example of an outstanding piece from this era that was done using repousse and a very skillful stone setting, but using thinner silver. At 28 grams, it is quite light, and in any other time period this bracelet would be too light for a serious collector. At this time, however, it represents a very fine piece representative of a time of relative scarcity, when some smiths maintaned their earlier weight while other less fortunate artists had to work with less.
1910: MY FAVORITE YEAR
To me, 1910 was a time when the quality of Navajo bracelets was at an apex. Most smiths now had access to a good supply of silver through the well-developed network of trading posts on the reservation, but the age of "tourist" jewelry had not yet arrived. While the supply of turquoise was nothing like it would later become after the flowering of the Nevada turquoise industry, there were stones available from Cerrillos, Royston and even imported Persian stones. Designs still maintained an appealing simplicity, though the evolution of techniques was clear.
Here is a great example of a top-quality bracelet from that era, showing both creativity and an adherence to traditional standards of quality. The weight is 58 grams, which is actually a strong weight for a piece sized to fit a smaller wrist. Men's bracelets can go into the 80-85 gram range.
1920s: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT
As the Anglo market economy continued its inexorable march West, Navajo bracelets became more elaborate. The standards of quality did not diminish, but the designs incorporated increasingly complex motifs and applications.
This bracelet from 1920-1925 has the ingot construction of earlier pieces, but the band is made of three joined wires. Applied decorations include the semicircular wire loops on the sides and the large silver balls, which would eventually become a staple on almost all Navajo bracelets. The weight is 54 grams, which is again a good, solid weight for a smaller scale bracelet. Some 1920s pieces are quite a bit heavier, and a few can break the 100 gram barrier (although only if they are wide and large-scale).
1930: GIANTS AND MIDGETS
Pieces from the 1930s come in two basic flavors: very thin and light tourist-trade pieces and heavy pieces incorporating turquoise. We won't bother with the former, but the latter is illustrated very nicely below.
This bracelet has all the apsects of a good 1930s piece, including lots of nice turquoise and an elaborately worked band. In this case, there are 4 square wires and three rows of braided silver wire. With this much going on, and being sized for a medium wrist, it is no wonder that this is a heavier bracelet. 80 grams, like for this one, is not at all unusual. In fact, any elaborate piece from the 1930s that weighs less that 50 grams is probably too light.