Description
7.25" Vintage Wilson Begay silver and turquoise cuff bracelet. 60mm wide in<br>center tapering down at ends.<br><br>Wilson and Carol Begay are traditional Navajo silversmiths. These talented<br>silversmiths have been creating traditional Navajo jewelry since 1969. They came<br>from families well known for their jewelry making. Wilson’s father, Luke, taught<br>John Adair, author of “Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths” how to make sand cast<br>jewelry. He worked for many years with Mike and Dean Kirk, at the famous Kirk<br>Brothers Trading Company in Gallup, New Mexico.<br><br>Carol’s parents, Angela and Allen Chee were both silversmiths who worked by C.G.<br>Wallace, the famous jewelry trader from Zuni, New Mexico.<br><br>The Begays began their career making sandcast jewelry, a traditional type of<br>Navajo jewelry that requires the artist to make carvings in Tufa stone to make<br>forms to shape molten silver. They first worked for Tobe Tupen, a well known<br>trader in Gallup. Carol remembers that silver was only $1.25 an ounce when they<br>started.<br><br>Today they are independent artists whose work is widely sought after and<br>admired. Wilson concentrates on the casting and building the foundations of the<br>jewelry and Carol sets the stones and does the finishing work. They work<br>together to design their jewelry.<br><br>Traditional sandcast silver jewelry is a unique Navajo art form. The process,<br>although it sounds simple, requires careful discipline and years of practice to<br>obtain quality results.<br><br>The artist takes two pieces of pumice stone and grinds them together to create<br>two flat surfaces. Then the design is carved into one of the two pumice stones.<br>An opening is carved from the design to the top and bottom of the stone. The two<br>pieces of stone are then tied together so that the carved design is between the<br>two flat areas. Silver is then melted in a crucible, and when it reaches the<br>proper molten form, it is poured into the opening on the top of the design. If<br>it is the proper temperature, it flows through to the bottom where it cools and<br>hardens, filling the design space. After cooling, the stones are separated, the<br>casting removed and the protrusions on the top and bottom are cut off. The<br>silver is then filed smooth and shaped.<br><br>If stones are to be set on the piece, the artist builds a silver bezel to hold<br>the stone and then solders it to the piece of jewelry. Sawdust is put in the<br>bottom of the bezel to cushion the stone and the bezel is tightened. The piece<br>is then polished to the shine the artist likes.<br><br>Wilson Begay of Gallup is the acknowledged master of the art of sandcast<br>jewelry. Luke Begay, Wilson's grandfather, demonstrated this skill to John Adair<br>in the early 1930's when Adair was conducting a survey of native silversmiths of<br>the Smithsonian. Luke taught the skill to Wilson as a young man. Today, in his<br>60's, Wilson continues to make sandcast jewelry in his Gallup home. His wife,<br>Carol, chooses the stones to be used and sets them in bezels. The Begays have<br>three daughters, Nichole, Yvonne and Bonnie, are continuing the family<br>tradition.<br><br>Wilson's stamped signature is a flat brimmed Navajo hat with his initials under<br>it. His signature is one of the most recognized in Indian jewelry. His work has<br>won top awards at the Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial and is a "must have" for<br>serious collectors of contemporary Indian jewelry.<br><br>All precious metals are tested and guaranteed, any Native American jewelry<br>referred to as Silver or Sterling is guaranteed to be a minimum of 90% (coin)<br>silver and possibly higher content. Anything marked is guaranteed to be what<br>it's marked, most bracelets are photographed on a 6" wrist (non hairy), rings<br>photographed on the appropriate sized finger when possible. With bracelets if<br>the measurement is not given in the description then inside circumference is<br>shown where the metal meets the number on the the cloth tape measure.
