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A magnificent McKee Platero Navajo Third-Phase
Style silver Concho Belt, c. late 1990’s
How great is great? How high is up? McKee Platero’s pieces always make you ask quasi-existential questions like these because McKee Platero (b.1957) exists on a completely different plane than virtually every other Navajo silversmith. He is possessed of vastly superior abilities compared to those of mere mortals and he somehow carries with him the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the ages. In our personal view, Platero is very probably the finest Navajo Silversmith who ever lived; he is certainly in the top four in the exalted ranks of Kenneth Begay, Begay’s teacher,
Fred Peshlakai, and Peshlakai’s teacher, the legendary 19th Century master smith, “Slender, Maker-of-Silver”.
This Concho belt by the modern-day Master Platero is nothing short of a modern-era masterpiece. It is an elaborate
and complex artistic composition based on the historic style of a Navajo Third-Phase period Concho belt. It is composed of no less than fourteen perfectly-crafted, perfectly-matched pieces of silver; 6 oval-shaped silver conchos, interspersed with seven silver "butterflies" and all centered by one large rectangularly-shaped silver buckle.
Each piece is elaborately decorated with perfectly-applied and highly-detailed stamp, chisel and repoussee work.
The incredible fineness, precision, complexity and beauty of this work can simply not be overstated.
McKee Platero, left, and Teal McKibben, right, at her La Bodega Gallery, Santa Fe, c. 1998
The belt measures 38 1/2" in overall length from the outside edge of the silver buckle to the tip of the light brown leather strap. There are presently five holes in the leather at 3/4" intervals, the first starting at 31" from the center of the buckle and again at 31 3/4", 32 1/2", 33 1/4" and 34". The belt’s silver buckle measures 3 3/4" in width and is
3 1/4" in height, the six silver conchos each measure 3" in width and are 2 3/4" in height and the seven silver “butterflies” each measure 2 3/4" in height and are 1 3/8" in width. The entire belt weighs in at an extremely substantial 495 grams or 17 1/2 ounces, slightly over one pound, yet it sits very comfortably and nicely on the body.
The artist’s signature on this belt is itself a testament to how highly McKee Platero himself regarded this particular piece. During this time period, Platero always signed his pieces with his customary hallmark of a row of three small stamped dots or stars, a signature he devised based on his lifetime fascination with the constellation of Orion, the Hunter, in the night sky. In the “belt” of Orion there are three stars in a row. On those certain of his pieces which Platero particularly liked during this time period he would also add his stamped capital letters initials “MP” to the usual three dots, a signature distinction seen here on the back of this belt’s buckle.
This fantastic concho belt has had only two devoted and knowledgable previous owners in its 26-28 year lifetime
which largely accounts for its still remarkable, excellent original condition. The belt shows just a slight amount
of age-appropriate wear as it approaches its 30th birthday. Clearly, it has rightfully been treasured and very well
taken care of its entire life thus far.
The belt’s first owner was the renowned Santa Fe Navajo and Pueblo jewelry dealer and collector, Teal McKibben (1928-2006), who purchased the belt directly from McKee Platero for her Canyon Road gallery, “La Bodega”, in the late 1990’s soon after he completed it. McKibben, in turn, sold the belt to one of her gallery's longtime Santa Fe clients who then kept it in her own private collection for the next 26-27 years until we purchased it earlier this year. Ironically, we had just barely missed being the belt’s second owner ourselves by only a day or two at the La Bodega gallery back when the belt was originally there.
This singular piece is as good as it ever gets, in our opinions and 35-plus years of experience. Personally and stylistically, we believe it is the finest of all the maybe 6-7 McKee Platero concho belts that we have ever seen.
The artistry is absolutely superb, the execution and detailing are absolutely flawless. We’re trying our level best here, but mere superlatives really cannot adequately describe just how extraordinarily remarkable this piece is.
We can add from our personal experience of being in this belt’s presence that it is a privilege and a source of great pride to be able to possess and continuously admire such a piece. It literally (and we promise that you will experience this yourself should you be fortunate enough to acquire it) gets better every single time you look at it. How many pieces can you ever say that about?
SOLD
