Lee and Mary are considered, two of the most accomplished silversmiths in the history of Zuni arts. They started working together in the late 1940's, with Lee doing the silver work and Mary doing the stone cutting.
This beautifully designed concho belt offers the best of their cluster work, with meticulously matched natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise. 304 perfectly cut stones are placed in 7-3 cluster concho's and buckle. Each concho is accented with a repousee and twist wire design. The total length measures 36" long. The buckle measures 2 3/4" by 2 3/8 " wide. Hallmarked Zuni, Lee/Mary.
Their work is published in Zuni Jewelry, the Art and the People, Vol 1 & 2, by Barbara and Ed Bell. Theda Bassman, Northland Publishing Company, Treasures of the Zuni. Theda and Michael Bassman, Zuni: A Village of Silversmiths, University of New Mexico Press. Barton Wright, Hallmarks of the Southwest, Schiffer Publishing LTD, 2000. And many more.
They started
working together in the late 1940s, he doing the silverwork, she
cutting the stones, and both setting the domed and meticulously
matched stones that make their work distinctive.
