Sterling Silver Navajo Guild Concha Belt [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The estate has authorized a 40% price reduction from the original price of $2500 to a new price of $1540.

The United States Congress, at the urging of the Indian Service, created the Indian Arts and Crafts Board on August 27, 1935. In general, its function was “to promote the economic welfare of the Indian tribes through the development of their handiwork or manufactures.” The IACB, in turn, created the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild (NACG) in September 1941. The guilds were established to provide the artisans a place to sell their wares. Each guild aimed its products at “quality stores in the East, Mid-west, and Southwest,” and avoided the tourist market. A minimum-wage scale was established for graduates of the guild.

The conchas from this belt are domed, repoussé, and stamped. The artisan was an exceptional craftsman. It is signed NAVAJO and the horned moon of the NACG logo:

Provenance: From the estate of Transcendental artist Florence Pierce of Albuquerque who passed away in 2007 at the age of 89. She was best known for luminescent paintings made of pigmented resins on reflective surfaces. Her interest in abstraction began in the 1930s when she was an associate of the Transcendental Painting Group. The New York Times called her “the doyenne of abstract art in the Southwest” following her art exhibit in New York City in 2006.