This vintage pin leaped out at me (figuratively speaking of course, lol!) from the rows and rows of stunning vintage jewellery in the booth of one of my very favorite flea market vendors.
It was pristine, perfect...my favorite color! And to me it looked just like a favorite quilt pattern: Feathered Star.
My dealer-friend saved it for me (since I was broke!) and I brought it home this weekend.
The workmanship is beautiful! The stones are flawless matched sky blue turquoise and all are still there, important in a vintage piece.
And much to my delight, in addition to the clearly stamped sterling mark, the pin is signed in hand written engraved script on the back:
Vera Halusewa
Zuni.
I haven't tried to clean the pin as yet---wanting to be sure to go slowly, to preserve the patina, so the words are not so clear. But they are there!
With that information I was able to look up the artist, a well-known Native American silversmith of the Zuni tribe. The pin probably dates to the '70s and is a Snowflake! Not a Feathered Star....
edit: my friend Lisa adds the information that the pin's style is traditional Zuni, from New Mexico, and is called "needlepoint." (Other on-line sources call it "petitpoint.") And she says the stones are untreated turquoise with no matrix, quite fine! Wow!
edit: my friend Lisa adds the information that the pin's style is traditional Zuni, from New Mexico, and is called "needlepoint." (Other on-line sources call it "petitpoint.") And she says the stones are untreated turquoise with no matrix, quite fine! Wow!
I was pleased and amazed to note some of the on-line prices, up to 10 times what I paid, here and also here . I think my treasure compares very favorably, with large, evenly sized/ shaped stones, don't you?
But despite it being a snowflake, to me it will always be a feathered star!
And that perhaps the pattern is not as difficult or as intricate as I had imagined. Good to know since this is a pattern on my someday list! I don't own a Fearthered Star quilt. And I don't think I've ever seen one in person...
...but I can wear my pin and...imagine making my own.
(Wouldn't it be stunning in Southwestern colors...turquoise and coral stars on black, with touches of purple, white or pearl grey! Or turquoise and sand, like my beach and sky? Or, or...the mind boggles!...)
More flea market treasures and some doll clothes later in the week!
enjoy!
love
lizzy
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The style the piece was worked in is called 'needlepoint' and it is a traditional Zuni design.
ReplyDeleteYou will actually preserve more of the value of the piece if you DON'T clean it. The patina is considered a big part of the value.
Likely 50s-70s in vintage. It depends on how heavy the piece is. During the 70s when silver prices went up, the weight of the work fell substantially.
(I was raised on the stuff - feel free to delete the post).