Description
6.25" Chief Bear Step sterling cuff bracelet with stallion. Weight and measurements in pics. Hand pounded ingot silver with some cracks original to when it was made. Tough and sturdy bracelet with cannot be bent or broken under any normal circumstances. It would likely survive getting run over by a car.
Chief Bear-Step (1896-1980) was the hereditary chief of the Mi Ashi Ton Gaxas. He was a VIP member of the Appaloosa Horse Club (an international breed registry) and an avid rider with his prized Appaloosa named Apache Tears. In 1952, he wrote and illustrated a book about the Appaloosa called Painted Ponies, which reflected his great love of the breed through a retelling of its history, use by and importance to Native Americans. He made and sold his jewelry in Colorado and Arizona in the later years of his life and was active until his passing in 1980. His jewelry seldom comes on the market and is highly sought after and prized.
All precious metals are tested and guaranteed. A Native American jewelry piece referred to as "silver" or "ingot" is guaranteed to be at least 90% silver. I rarely use the word "sterling" when referring to older Native American silver or really any older silver jewelry as silver contents vary and "sterling" is 92.5% silver. No older jewelry is going to be exactly 92.5% silver, some a little over, some a little under. It wasn‘t an exact thing with handmade jewelry. I‘ve seen thousands of pieces xrf‘d to prove this. Bracelets are photographed on a 6" women‘s wrist.
