Important! Zuni att Jacob (Jake) Haloo Goony Bird Thunderbird Bolo Overlay Inlay

Description

Welcome!
WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT IT: There are almost no known pieces of jewelry made by the legendary Zuni artist, Jacob Haloo, who is referred to as Jake Haloo in all of the books about the great Zuni artists. Many of his children are famous for their exceptional jewelry and all credit his teaching for their skills. Those who learned from him were Dolly Banteah, Rolanda Haloo, Nancy Laconsello, Lolita Natachu, Jake Livingston and Dennis Edaakie, Dennis being his nephew. The style of his work is called Overlay Inlay, which requires cutting out the top layer of silver, soldering it to a lower level, and hand cutting and buffing the stones and shells to the precise shapes, inlaying the stones into the silver. Jacob's original designs include this rare bird but few of his designs are known. There was a big search to find his goony bird and it turned out his daughter Lolita Natachu had made that design. This bird design, also called a Thunderbird, was also done by Lolita. Indeed we are fortunate in that I have a buckle she made in 1970-1972, which represents his other bird design. There are only these two known designs, both birds. It would be great to wear this one on the bolo and the other on the buckle. This bolo was made in the mid-60s, dating based on the C-31 Bennett, unless it was made earlier with wires on the back and converted to Bennett later, and Lolita did not start working until the 1970s, so I'm attributing this bolo to Jacob Haloo with confidence. I think Jacob Haloo must have had a wonderful sense of humor because both the bird designs of his that I've seen and which I currently have in my store are so charming and so entertaining. I've left this bolo unpolished with the original patina intact, but it might benefit from a light rub with a sunshine cloth to bring out more of the silver glow and its contrast with the lovely natural inlaid stones and shells which are irridescent mother of pearl clam shell, brown shell, red abalone, rich turquoise and jet. This is quite an important piece and it has the original hand made tips as well! One of the reasons why Jacob Haloo's work is so rare is that it's been misattributed. The work is so excellent and so creative that one sloppy author mistakenly credited the bird on the buckle to Frank Vacit in one of his books, causing people to misattribute their pieces forever, since that author never corrects his mistakes. At that time nothing had been identified as Jacob's work even though he was considered one of the seminal Zuni artists! Here we have it. This is a piece by Jacob Haloo. And the family confirmed!
A lovely bolo like this could easily be worn as a pendant for women who prefer not to wear bolos or could be converted to a pin using laser. Many women do wear bolos, though, and I consider this piece to be suitable for a man or a woman.
CONDITION: excellent vintage wearable and collectible. One tip has some dents.
MEASUREMENTS:
• the bolo itself measures 1-3/4 high and 1-3/8" wide
• the tie is soft old leather, supple, and with the tips measures c. 33" end to end
• unsigned but guaranteed to be Jacob Haloo's work and Zuni
• not marked for silver content but guaranteed to be sterling silver .925
• the sterling silver original tips measure a bit over 2-1/4" high
SUMMARY: This is a gorgeous piece of work and one of the few ever that is correctly attributed to the famous Jacob Haloo. I want to price this affordably, although I am aware it is of so much historical importance that it may be worth thousands to collectors. If it doesn't sell during auction I may raise the price to something approaching fair value, however. I hope that it will provide joy to future generations as it has to me. Do check my store for the family's belt buckle and I'll be glad to help you buy the pair by providing an additional discount.
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Attributions on many of the old pieces of Native American jewelry are sometimes a moving target. All the books have errors, so in addition to counterchecking, I have developed some expertise over the years and I do care about getting it right, so as more information comes to light I update my listings and also get in touch with my previous buyers, to inform them of any changes in attributions. I am sincerely committed to ongoing accuracy.
Everything I sell comes from my personal collection or is something that I would include in my personal collection. Most pieces are museum worthy and gallery suitable, sold to you at great pricing. I vet every item carefully for quality and condition, and offer you the best. I want you to be able to rely on me for top quality, superb items that are often unique and rare examples of old antique vintage southwest, indian, native american and fine gold and gemstones, whether you're starting a collection or adding to one, or want something great to wear or gift. My goal is that all my buyers are delighted, that my special pieces find the right homes.