Hand Hammered Sterling Silver Ram Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco [SOLD]

Using one’s imagination, one can picture the curving shape of a ram’s horn, after which it becomes quite obvious.  This sterling silver hand-forged ram is typical of jewelry designed by Jan Loco with her trademark hand-hammered finish.  

Jan Loco (b.1949-) began making jewelry in 1988. She developed a unique method of creating jewelry without the use of power tools.  Using only heavy-duty shears, she cut and fashioned her piece to the desired shape, after which she hammered 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.

A Spider Woman cross is stamped on verso.  Jan Loco no longer is making jewelry.  She moved from New Mexico some years ago and her whereabouts are unknown. 

The pin is also stamped J. Loco on verso and the silver purity stamp of .925.  What does .925 mean? Sterling Silver consists of 92.5% silver, and the remaining part consists of copper - mostly copper. This is the reason why Sterling Silver is popularly referred to as 925 Sterling Silver or just 925 Silver.  The reason silver needs to be combined with other metals is that it is very difficult to make great designs with just pure silver, which is very soft and malleable. A bit of hardness has to be introduced, by adding other metals such as copper. That's why jewelers are capable of making the most intricate and complex designs with 925 Sterling Silver.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Hand Hammered Sterling Silver Ram Pin by Apache Artist Jan Loco is from a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico

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

Relative Links: jewelry, Apache, Jan Loco