ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Quentin Quam is considered a "Master" mosaic inlay artist who was born & still resides in the Zuni Pueblo, which is on the west side of NM..The Zuni Pueblo people have been long known for their intricate detailed mosaic inlay work,whether it be their phenomenal picturesque mosaic that is done with hand cut stones & shell that are then inlaid into sterling, or their meticulous cluster work that is designed with stones tinier than anything you could ever imagine working with! But whatever medium,their work is the most time consuming & most rewarding & personally,some of the most beautiful out of all tribal work..Quentin Sr.is such a reputable artist that is highly collectible!
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DESCRIPTION:
For the Zuni,Owls are the Guardians of the night & protectors of the village.Their sounds alert people to the coming of enemies & danger.

These ‘pieces of art’ are made by Quentin,who cuts each of these tiny,tiny stones (or shell) all by hand & then mosaic inlays each within the sterling,giving you this very picturesque piece of art in metal form.The detail is impressive & remarkable & how he makes these with such accuracy, should give true appreciation to this artist!!! When mosaic is done on this tiny of a scale takes skill & is very time consuming & extremely challenging to work with this small of stone..

Glaring for miles out in the distance,sits the Snow Owl who is finely detailed & is made of shimmery opalescent Mother of Pearl & is given all minuscule naturalistic detailed markings known to the Snow Owl! There are winged layers of shimmery pearly pinks & greens in the mother of pearl that are seen as they move in the light,black spotted detailing & dark black eyes that Quentin took time to chisel into the shell for a more realistic appearance..

Because of the size that Quentin chose to make the Owl,it is inlaid in a rounded rectangular medallion shape to ensure they show nicely. Fine cuts of Lapis show at both top & bottom,along with marquise cuts of turquoise that emulate a floral design that sits behind this mighty bird! Hand stamping follows the shape of the medallion.

These are a mirrored earring,so there is an actual right & left,so they're meant to be worn going 'toward' the face(as shown in photos)

Because of having to brighten up the photos,does take away the ability to seethe Mother of Pearl..So please be aware of this.Also,I have the matching Snow Owl ring that can be found in my ring listings (see last photo)