ABOUT THE ARTIST:

"KIRK SMITH"s jewelry is probably the most collected from any artist in passing..His pieces,now more than ever, are being purchased by the connoisseurs of Native American jewelry & going into collectors possessions..His pieces have always had high recognition,but definitely more so,since his unfortunate passing in Sept.2012 & like anybody that had a reputable name like Kirk, once their jewelry goes into collector's hands,they are gone..His pieces have & will always have 'Investment/Museum/Collector's Quality"..And this colossal cuff is a fine example of his earliest works!

He started in the 60's from working & learning silversmithing from his Grandfather & in '72 went out on his own after working for clothes & shoes,to helping his uncle do sand cast pieces.But it wasn't until he hooked up with brother~in ~law"Harry Morgan" in the 80's,that he really started paying attention to design & his career started taking off...Harry had a big name & Kirk said, "he wanted to be one of those people that had a name" & that he did! It was Harry however,who was the innovator of creating jewelry that had an 'Old Pawn,"Vintage Revival,Classic 1930's style that Kirk learned from & ended up surpassing him with the style that now,many of todays modern day Navajo silversmith's have jumped on the band wagon doing & repeated Kirk's style giving their jewelry a very old pawn look that's heavily oxidized as if the jewelry was at least 50~100 years old..

Being the kindest man,with a huge heart, believed in giving back & went on to teach others like Anthony Skeets,the Martinez family,Fred & Dean Brown,so in return,they could help their families & to take the money from sales,to help others..His Grandfather once told him"When you leave something here,your name will always be here" & that he did.His work will always be remembered & cherished..

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THE CUFF

This cuff was a super lucky find & came from a Santa Fe collector who collected Kirk's jewelry & bought it quite a few years ago.They got into a financial pinch & had to sell many of their pieces.(I will be posting more)

Having personally followed Kirk's work for years, this rare cuff is one of his earliest works,along with having his 1st "KS" hallmark.(Later he spelled out his whole name in cursive) Through the years,Kirk developed his own signature style,so much so that there was no denying as to who made it..This cuff was made before he developed that style.

It is quite the cuff,being just under 4" wide & is made in a "Red-White & Blue" theme with gorgeous blue Morenci turquoise,cuts of shimmery Mother of Pearl & Italian branch Coral.The HUGE 2-1/2" center has some amazing color to it & on the top (depending on how you look at it) is mostly pyrite.The material sits atop of an oxidized sheet of sterling that is used for it's wide platform,which was what was needed for all the cuts! Curved snips of sterling wire alternate between each cut are used as accents.To accomodate it's huge size,it is then soldered to a tri-split wire shank.Please see all photos since they paly a major role to my description.

If you collect any of Kirk's work,this is one that needs to go into your collection because this one here gives you a historical timeline from when he started & how his design developed to what it became at the time of his passing.