Fossilized Ivory and Silver Bolo Tie [SOLD]

This bolo features the artist's interpretation of "The Boy who made Dragonfly" which is a Zuni Pueblo legend. More information on that later. For now, we concentrate on the work of art itself. Bobelu created a beautiful image of a boy with arms spread. He has a muscular body and a serene face. His eyes are closed. The massive piece of fossilized ivory is beautifully carved in traditional Zuni pottery volute design elements.

The large ivory is secured on a silver backing with a wide silver bezel around the ivory. The artist's first name, Gomeo, and Sterling are stamped on the back.

The tips of the leather are encased in silver cones. Suspended from the silver cones are faces representing the two Hopi children who are in the following Zuni legend. The images are of carved ivory capped with jet hair in pueblo style. Each pendant is stamped with the artist's name.

"The Boy who made Dragonfly" recounts a Zuni myth first recorded a century ago by the anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing. It tells the consequences of a drought in which Zuni crops were ruined and the tribe was forced to accept charity from neighboring Hopis. This story shows how greed can destroy a civilization; the tribe is saved (after two years exile) by two children and an old woman who loved and helped save the valuable corn. The boy makes the dragonfly out of corn stalks, and the Corn Maidens give him life.

Gomeo Bobelu (b. 1964) attended Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He lives in Santa Fe and Zuni Pueblo, and is affiliated with SWAIA. He states "My life as a silversmith is challenging because I am experimenting with traditional techniques of brazing, forging and lapidary to create two-dimensional wearable adornments. My inspirations are Rene Lalique, Edward Beyuka and Lambert Homer. I love the use of turquoise, shell, fossilized ivory, ironwood and other natural stones to create color schemes from the 1900s." [Schaaf,2012:111]

Condition: excellent original condition

Provenance: from the collection of a Santa Fe family

Reference: Schaaf, Gregory. American Indian Jewelry II: A-L 1,800 Artist Biographies, 2012.

TAGS: Zuni Pueblo, Southwest Indian Jewelry