Saturday, April 25, 2009

Butterflies and Caterpillars


I've not posted for awhile mostly because I've been distracted in putting together a website to showcase Native American jewelry artists. Although not up and running the website is http://www.najewels.com/. I think the site holds great promise for giving a name recognition boost to individual artists. Meanwhile, I've also signed on to twitter.com as wilfordofgallup where I've started posting matters related to the buying and selling of Indian jewelry.

Pictured above is my latest acquisiton which may well go down as the find of the year. Our team is always on the search for blue ribbon prize winning jewelry. I was surprised to find this unsold LC Charley (Navajo) masterwork in a display case at one of the area dealers. I've bought a number of Mr. Charley's very well crafted ranger buckle sets, but never have I seen any of his work as captivating as these silver butterflies which earned him a 1997 blue ribbon at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremony art show.


I hate to part with blue ribbon work, but offering for sale some the very best collector's pieces of Southwestern Native American jewelry is an important aspect of our ongoing ambition to be one of the best sources in the business. The buckle above is of Western design with hook and swivel back. The bolo has a double loop holder for the braided leather. Cost $1799.