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A lovely, dramatic and very large Zuni Pueblo
silver and turquoise channel-inlay ring, most likely from the C.G. Wallace Trading Post, c. 1930’s-40’s
Wow, let’s talk about some extremely serious “eye-candy”. This exceptionally striking ring is some kind of major
Southwestern style statement. The inspiration for this type of piece was very likely the renowned historic Indian trader and showman, Charles Garrett (C.G.) Wallace (1896-1972) who for decades encouraged and facilitated the making and selling of extravagant, beautifully-crafted ultra high-end Navajo and Pueblo jewelry pieces made by his unparalleled in-house stable of talented Navajo and Zuni silversmiths and stone carvers to a high-end clientele for whom more, bigger, flashier and fancier was an important draw and price was little or no object. C.G. Wallace was a consummate merchandiser who fervently believed that more was more, and especially so in the case of turquoise.
"One of his main goals in life was to bring Zuni jewelry to the world."
- Elizabeth Chestnut, former director of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
on the life and legacy of C.G. Wallace
Zuni Pueblo and Navajo Silversmiths at The C.G. Wallace Trading Post
The C. G. Wallace Trading Post’s outstanding roster of Zuni Pueblo and Navajo jewelry makers; silversmiths and stone carvers, included, among others, all of the following at one time or another: John Gordon Leak, Juan de Dios, Horace Iule, Dan Simplicio, Leekya Deyuse, Teddy Weahkee, Leo Poblano, Daisy Hooee, Frank Vacit, Della Casa Appa, Roger Skeet, Sr., Roger Skeet, Jr., Etsitty Tstosie, Austin Wilson and William Goodluck, skilled and distinguished artists all, several of whom could have been responsible for making this ring.
Photo source and © Sotheby Parke Bernet
At left, Charles Garrett (C.G.) Wallace, c. 1920’s. At right, The C.G. Wallace Trading Post at Zuni Pueblo, c. 1920 with C.G. Wallace in the center wearing a white hat pictured with some of his all-star Navajo and Zuni silversmiths.
C.G. Wallace photos source and © Sotheby Parke-Bernet.
And he was certainly right in the case of this ring. It’s an awesome sight to behold, a tall 2 1/2” high tower of finely designed and crafted silver and inlaid turquoise goodness with 20 beautifully hand-cut perfectly matched stones likely from Nevada’s famed Blue Gem Mine arrayed in two vertical parallel rows up and down the entire face of the ring.
Zuni channel inlay silverwork is the painstaking and meticulous art of fitting precisely cut stones such as turquoise, coral, jet or various types of shell into silver channels or grooves. It developed from ancient Zuni lapidary skills, gaining prominence in the early 20th century with significant trader influence, particularly that of C.G. Wallace and it quickly became a benchmark hallmark of Zuni Pueblo jewelry artistry, celebrated for its intricate designs and complex geometric patterns. Channel inlay came into its own round the 1920s-1930s when Zuni artists influenced by Wallace and others, moved from simple settings to more complex and detailed designs using combinations of many multiple small stones.
The ring is most beautifully constructed with a triple split-silver shank onto which is mounted the large butterfly or vertical bowtie-shaped fabricated silver platform or face which contains the elaborate channel inlay of 12 perfectly matched lovely blue turquoise stones, each precisely shaped and perfectly fitted into a smooth stone “painting” or mosaic. The ring measures a size 9 on a professional graduated ring sizer. The ring’s face measures a very impressive 2 1/2" in length and is just under 1" in width at its widest end points tapering to 1/2" in width at the middle. It is 1/4" in depth. The ring weighs a nice-feeling and very comfortable 26 grams or 7/8 ounce.
The ring is in remrkably excellent original condition and particuarly so for its age, with little wear and no damages to speak of. All of the 20 turquoise inlays are intact and secure in their channels. The ring is unsigned for the maker, as befits its general earlier time period, but our educated guesses would be a very talented someone from among the C.G. Wallace A-Team of Zuni silversmiths; John Gordon Leak, Dan Simplicio, Frank Vacit, Leo Poblano or Della Casa Appa. Whoever it was that made it certainly made it absolutely terrific, a superb and streamlined dramatic jewelry sculpture.
This ring is a wonderful, clean-lined Modernist-style “cocktail” type ring made well before that term was ever coined; it’s historic, it’s modern, it’s precious and it’s stone-cold gorgeous all at the same time. Best of all, it can be yours right now.
Price $1,550
A historic view of Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, c. 1930.
Zuni Pueblo photo source and © Edward S. Curtis, U.S. Library of Congress.