Important Zuni Donald Isabelle Waseta Long Hair Rain Dancer Kohgokshi Buckle 50s for Sale

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Important Zuni Donald Isabelle Waseta Long Hair Rain Dancer Kohgokshi Buckle 50s For Sale

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Important Zuni Donald Isabelle Waseta Long Hair Rain Dancer Kohgokshi Buckle 50s:
$1225.00

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Offered... an important exquisite early buckle by a moderately known Zuni artist. It's wonderful to see such superb work equivalent to that of the great masters by an artist hitherto little known. The buckle represents a long hair kachina who is a rain dancer in the Zuni ceremonials and he is known as Kohgokshi or Kokokshi, which means a beautiful or valuable kachina or katsina. This Kohgokshi has several feathers on his head, more colorful than the other examples. He also has a multicolored strap while the other examples I have seen have a strap of one color. The inlay on this piece is very finely detailed, though damaged, and it is impeccably inlaid into the mother of pearl oval disc which has a hand made scalloped bezel, framed with hand twisted wires and then with astonishingly beautiful stamped silver work. A unique feature to this is the superb stamped silver work framing the piece which is also overlaid in two strips and has applied stamped raindrops, and four set natural turquoise stones. Every aspect of this piece is fabulous.
Donald Waseta was born in 1915 and died in January of 1983. I know of two examples of the work of this artist, each similar to this, though mine are the best of them. I have a matching bolo and know of two others. One of the others is wrongly attributed to Leo Poblano and is priced at $2200 in an online gallery store. The other was originally attributed to Frank Vacit and was changed to be Donald and Isabelle Waseta and it's priced at $1485 in another online gallery. The reflex of experts is always to attribute something this exceptional to a known great master. It is understandable to make such attributions but one should be more cautious without confirmation. I do have confirmation of this attribution. Ernie Bulow interviewed the Waseta family and confirmed unquestionably that Donald and Isabelle Waseta created this master work and specialized in the kokokshi.
Details: This buckle is a substantial size at 3-1/4" long x 1-3/8" wide. It weighs 67.9grams. It can handle a leather belt of 2" wide or less, comfortably. The overall condition is good, with some cracks and missing inlay, which you can see in the pictures, wearable, vintage, and highly collectible. The inlay into mother of pearl consists of natural stones: red abalone, jet, turquoise, mother of pearl. The oval plaque is set with a hand scalloped bezel surrounded with twisted wire frame.. The base is hand stamped and appliqued with silver overlay as well as four stamped raindrops and four pieces of natural turquoise.
The work is so fine on this buckle as to seem to be miraculous. I think of it as museum quality and recommend it for the best collections. Never underestimate the power of a Zuni Kokokshi rain dancer. it is a perfect pair with the bolo which is available separately in my store, pics of which I did include above. Because of the damage to the buckle consisting of some missing inlay and some cracks I've reduced the price more than enough to cover the cost of repairs if you choose to have it repaired.
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I'm no longer accepting returns having refunded $1350 for a bracelet I never received. Returns must be in the same condition they were shipped. If I make a significant mistake in a listing I'll always give you a full refund. The 20% restocking fee does not apply when the mistake is mine. I care that you're happy and about my accuracy, and will always stand behind my work. My attributions are guaranteed for my lifetime.

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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.

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