Fred Peshlakai Fine Blue Gem Row Bracelet Size 7, c.1940 Signed

It's always a pleasure to get one of Fred Peshlakai's pieces, as his artistry was so refined and exacting and he always used great quality turquoise. This 7 stone "row bracelet" is no exception. Made with graduated Blue Gem turquoise oval cabochons, with his own unique buttons between each one, and fan stamped overlays on each end of the stone placement. The side stamping is indicative of his very precise fine lined stamps. The FP hallmark over the left facing arrow is what he started using in 1937, according to Arthur Woodward in is 1938 book, Navajo Silver (A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing)
Weight: 34 Grams
Inside length end to end: 5 7/8"
Gap between ends: 1 1/8"
Fred Roan Peshlakai, born in 1895, was to become one of the most accomplished and revered Navajo silversmiths to this day. His father, Slender Maker of Silver is considered one of the finest of the early silversmiths, and Slender Maker’s brother Atsidi Sani is thought to be one of the very first Native American silversmiths. An important lineage in the Navajo / Diné cultural history.
In the late 1930s the Navajo Arts & Crafts Guild was formed to insure the integrity of Navajo jewelry, and Fred Peshlakai was among the masters who taught, and set an example of fine craftsmanship for the Guild. His work was technically exacting with intricate design work and considered the best of his time.
By 1940 he moved to Los Angeles, CA and opened a shop/ workshop in Olvera Street, a Mexican marketplace, in a preserved original cobblestone street in downtown LA. I went there regularly with my family as a child, and remember watching him through the window as he worked at his bench! He kept that shop until his death in 1974.