OT: Zuni jewellery

EastneyEnder said:

Yes ratther OT I'm afraid, but I thought someone among you might know
something about native american Zuni jewellery.

I found a lovely brooch (pin pendant) in a charity shop here yesterday, for
which I paid £4 (about $8).

I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is signed:
DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as this,
or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The stones are jet,
red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Jet is not common in the Southwestern US, it is possible, but more
likely to be onyx. You might try rec.antiques to see if anyone knows
who signed their pieces DLE, but be warned don't ask for value there.

Quoted message said:

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

The mother of pearl looks yellow in the pic, but that was due to the angle.

I would love to find a good dealer who could give me a valuation. I do like
it but I think it will be a candidate for Ebay.

Any ideas?

I am an antique dealer but Native American jewelry is not my specialty.
My gut feeling is that this is a tourist piece made sometime after
1970 and likely worth $20-$40 on the open market. It has the look of
the newer pieces I've seen on my trips west, and IME resale value on
newer NA jewelry isn't great.

Jessica

Quoted message said:

--
Sue in Portsmouth,
"Old" Hampshire,
"Old" England, UK

In article <[email hidden]>,

EastneyEnder said:

Yes ratther OT I'm afraid, but I thought someone among you might know
something about native american Zuni jewellery.

I found a lovely brooch (pin pendant) in a charity shop here yesterday, for
which I paid £4 (about $8).

I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is signed:
DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as this,
or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The stones are jet,
red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

The mother of pearl looks yellow in the pic, but that was due to the angle.

I would love to find a good dealer who could give me a valuation. I do like
it but I think it will be a candidate for Ebay.

Any ideas?

Looks hand-crafted, and it's signed by the artist.

You got a hell of a deal. ;-)

Valuation depends on what people are willing and able to pay, but I'd
start at at at least 15£ to 25£.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

EastneyEnder said:

Yes ratther OT I'm afraid, but I thought someone among you might know
something about native american Zuni jewellery.

I found a lovely brooch (pin pendant) in a charity shop here yesterday, for
which I paid £4 (about $8).

I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is signed:
DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as this,
or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The stones are jet,
red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

The mother of pearl looks yellow in the pic, but that was due to the angle.

I would love to find a good dealer who could give me a valuation. I do like
it but I think it will be a candidate for Ebay.

Any ideas?

Looks hand-crafted, and it's signed by the artist.

You got a hell of a deal. ;-)

Valuation depends on what people are willing and able to pay, but I'd
start at at at least 15£ to 25£.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

EastneyEnder said:

[snip]
I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is signed:
DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as this,
or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The stones are jet,
red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

I'm no expert, but we've been to a few Indian art shows, and the value
of pieces ranges very widely, depending on quality of the silver,
quality of the work, and reputation of the artist. There is a family of
artists known for a certain kind of inlay work, possibly invented by
the father. His name is Dennis Edaakie. I don't know if he has a
middle initial or if he signs his work DLE, but if he does you could
have something worth several hundred pounds. One of his children is
named Dale, according to this website, which might a good place for you
to do some more research. -aem

http://www.sedonaindianjewelry.com/Jewelry/Edaakie.html

EastneyEnder said:

Yes ratther OT I'm afraid, but I thought someone among you might know
something about native american Zuni jewellery.

I found a lovely brooch (pin pendant) in a charity shop here
yesterday, for which I paid £4 (about $8).

I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is
signed: DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as
this, or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The
stones are jet, red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

The mother of pearl looks yellow in the pic, but that was due to the
angle.

I would love to find a good dealer who could give me a valuation. I do
like it but I think it will be a candidate for Ebay.

Any ideas?

$200-$275 US. You got a great deal.

My mistake. She's a Wichita.

I misread that as DLH instead of DLE. Forget my Dina Huntinghorse theory.
The style is remarkably similar, though.

EastneyEnder said:

Yes ratther OT I'm afraid, but I thought someone among you might know
something about native american Zuni jewellery.

I found a lovely brooch (pin pendant) in a charity shop here yesterday, for
which I paid £4 (about $8).

I could tell it was semi-precious stones and silver, and the back is signed:
DLE Zuni.

I've had a look on some sites but not seen anything either as large as this,
or with such detailed inlay work. It's about 2" square. The stones are jet,
red coral, turquoise and mother of pearl.

Pic: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/MISC/Zuni_brooch.jpg

The mother of pearl looks yellow in the pic, but that was due to the angle.

I would love to find a good dealer who could give me a valuation. I do like
it but I think it will be a candidate for Ebay.

Any ideas?

Couldn't find anything on a Zuni artist who signs with 'DLE'. It looks
like a modern piece done for the tourist trade. Search here
http://jewelry.search.ebay.com/zuni_Native-American_W0QQfrtsZ100QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsacatZ98495

for some examples and prices. Might fetch a good price in UK, as
southwestern jewellery isn't common.