“Grandfather’s Star” Silver Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco [SOLD]

This silver star pin was created by Apache jeweler Jan Loco.  It’s a five-sided star, with rounded edges and a sun design in its center.  Each rounded edge has a series of small impressions.  On its backside, she gave it a title: “Grandfather’s Star.”  She signed J. Loco along one of its edges.  A pin and clasp is mounted horizontally across the back, so that it can easily be fastened to clothing.

Jan Loco (b.1949-) began making jewelry in 1988. She developed a unique method of creating jewelry without the use of any power tools.  Using only heavy-duty shears, she would cut and fashion her piece to the desired shape, after which she’d hammer it with a specially selected rock until she achieved the desired texture.  This is a laborious task, but she felt it honored her ancestry to use items of nature rather than power tools.

Jan Loco became interested in Apache symbolism and legend when, as a young adult, she discovered her Apache ancestry. Her work is inspired by the stories of her ancestors, incorporating designs reflecting the heavens, Apache legends as well as plants and animals of the Apache homeland.  She did not learn of her Warm Springs Apache heritage from her adoptive parents until she was an adult. It was then that she learned she was the great granddaughter of Chief Loco, one of the last of the Apache chiefs, who had been imprisoned in Florida in 1886 by the U. S. government.  Jan Loco no longer is making jewelry.  She moved from New Mexico some years ago and her whereabouts are unknown.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this "Grandfather's Star" Silver Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco is from a private Santa Fe collection

Recommended Reading: American Indian Jewelry II: A-L, 1,800 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

Relative Links: jewelry, Apache, Jan Loco