Contemporary Ring of Silver Overlay With 14k Gold Bear

About the Piece:

I'm sure many of you remember me writing about my friend, the Native jewelry and fetish collector? If you're not familiar with Barbara yet, here's a little primer - Barbara was a beautiful woman who grew up in Germany during World War II. Post war, she moved to the United States and became a model in New York City. She eventually married, left her modeling career, and moved to El Paso with her husband. In El Paso, she first experienced the charm of Native American art and jewelry. 

Many years later, she attended her first of several celebrated Native American art field trips hosted by Martha Struever. During this time, she expanded her collection of Native American art and jewelry. Her collection wasn't vast, but it was extremely meaningful to her.

After a long and full life, Barbara recently passed away. She knew that her collection which she lovingly called her "treasures" was to be handled by Turquoise & Tufa, and she expressed her wishes that these dear pieces would bring as much joy to us as they did to her. 

Barbara must've especially loved animals as evidenced by her many Zuni fetishes and pieces of jewelry like this contemporary bear ring. 

The ring is beautifully handmade of silver overlay with a bold 14k gold walking brown bear front row and center. The bear is a symbol of strength, and I feel certain that Barbara would want someone to wear it as a reminder of their own power.

A size 8 1/2, this lovely treasure has an 11/16" band face that tapers towards the back for comfort. It's signed LM by its Native maker along with "sterling" and "14k".

Summary:

• Item: Overlay Bear Ring

• Attribution: Contemporary Native Southwestern, signed “LM”

• Materials: Silver overlay with 14k gold 

• Dimensions: Ring size 8½; band face measures approximately 11/16" a

• Provenance: From the personal collection of a longtime Native art collector