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This incredible treasure survived the fire intact: I have it here and can ship promptly.
WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT IT: This is one of the most unique and most beautiful pins I\'ve owned. I truly am astounded by its importance and beauty. It was made in the very early part of the past century. I\'m attributing to Della Case Appa, based on my experience with her work. I\'ve included a picture of her above.
The flush inlay is primarily of natural turquoise bird into brown shell with tiny serrated bezel work and partial framed bezel. It is framed with set matching natural turquoise with tiny serrated bezels, applied plain and stamped tiny raindrops.
The pin measures 1\" high and 1.5\" wide and has a locking clasp. It is naturally unsigned and not marked for silver content as is usual for those early times but it\'s sterling silver and I\'m quite confident in my attribution to Della Casa Appa.
CONDITION: excellent vintage, wearable, collectible condition with minimal age related wear.
Background: Della Casa Appa was an amazing silversmith, probably the first important woman silversmith. She was producing beautiful work in the mid-1920s, so started well before that. She made a lot of petite point work early on, but also was versatile like so many of those early smiths. She did work with larger stones later, but always beautifully finished. She made a lot of the early pins that were composed of radiating teardrops surrounding a big coin. She was important in the general trend early for very elaborate petite point earrings, with several layers of falls and fringes. She made some of the earliest petite point cluster squash blossoms. She was so famous that several early Zuni painters---and I think Jimmy Abeita also, later---painted portraits of her. Very fine silversmith, very fine woman of dignity. Sold a lot to Wallace.Della Casa Appa may have been the first woman to sell her silver work; she had to sneak into CG Wallace\'s offices at night to do that! Her work was collected by him and was represented in the Sotheby\'s sale of his collection, and was also collected by discriminating collectors. I consider it the best.
SUMMARY: I can\'t imagine a better masterpiece for any collection than this work of early art. Every single aspect is uniquely gorgeous to this work of art and absolute perfection. It is museum worthy, most suitable for any best collection or for if you want to start any collection you can\'t do better than right here. You\'ll never be sorry you have this! It\'s perfection.
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Yes, I sometimes can take reasonable offers.
I request payment by PayPal in two days, but planned in advance of purchase, alternate payment methods and time payments can generally be arranged.
I generally ship same day. Domestic only
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.
When I include pages from published books in my listings it is in accordance with Fair Use Law, which permits the use of source material for discussion, reference, education and criticism.
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.
Everything I sell comes from my personal collection or is something that I would include in my personal collection. Most pieces are museum worthy and gallery suitable, sold to you at great pricing. I vet every item carefully for quality and condition, and offer you the best. I want you to be able to rely on me for top quality, superb items that are often unique and rare examples of old antique vintage southwest, indian, native american and fine gold and gemstones, whether you\'re starting a collection or adding to one, or want something great to wear or gift. My goal is that all my buyers are delighted, that my special pieces find the right homes.
