PROVENANCE:

This buckle came through my store by a Los Alamos, NM. based resident who I found through conversation, had some phenomenal parents‍ ‍& who happened to bring in what was left from her mother’s collection who owned the pieces I purchased.

Her father was the well known ‘RALPH PARDINGTON’ was the Head of the Three Dimensional Art Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts (I.A.I.A.) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to teaching Ceramics at I.A.I.A., he supervised instruction in Jewelry, Ceramics, Native Crafts, Sculpture, Weaving, and Foundry Sculpture. He retired after 28 years.

He was a brilliant artist and craftsman whose ceramic wares and sculptures were often recognized as outstanding in regional, national, and international exhibitions. He had many notable collections including The Institute of Contemporary Arts, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Fenn Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico. He was recruited for private collections by many well-known people including Barbara Mandrel, Fritz Scholder, and former Texas Governor J.B. Connally.

Her mother, ‘JOYCE PARDINGTON” was a devoted stay-at-home mom who—without reducing her to that single role—was also a remarkable artisan. She specialized in “Fiber Art”, creating pieces of such quality and resonance, that some were hung in the World Trade Center. Tragically, those works were destroyed on that horrific day, a profound loss both personally and culturally.

Like her husband, Joyce was also very much connected in our thriving Native American art scene here in Santa Fe, where she purchased & wore some of the best. This buckle came from her collection & I will be listing a few more pieces that their daughter brought in that belonged to her Mom.

THE BUCKLE:

I have to admit, not only was I delighted to see the old faceted cut glass Czech beads that the Hummingbird is designed with, but another thing I couldn’t help but notice is that this must have been Joyce’s belt buckle of choice!! You can clearly see on the backside where the suede backing shows wear, which only validates how much she must have worn it and how deeply she must have loved it! (See last 2 photos)

Made for either a man or a woman, the beads are carefully sewn onto a metal platform covered with pearl-colored white seed beads that follow the graceful form of the buckle, while the chartreuse, darker green, and red beads and the beak are designed from old faceted cut glass beads that catch and display a lively sparkle as they turn in the light. The buckle will fit up to a 1.50” belt of your choice.

Please view all photos since they play a role to the description

ARTIST: Unknown
TRIBAL AFFILAITION: Sioux
CIRCA: 1960's-1970’s
MATERIAL: Pearl Colored Beads-Vintage Czech Faceted Cut Glass beads
CUT: Round
BUCKLE MEASUREMENTS: 3-1/2" Wide X 2-1/2" Tall
WEIGHT: 2.54 Ounces -72.1 Grams
BELT SIZE: Up To a 1-1/2" Belt
CONDITION: Vintage-Not New-Because of this buckle being more than “Well Loved’, there is wear on the Suede-Some of the red beads in outline are gone, but the beads all seem to be in there good & I don’t see any loose thread ‘fraying’ around the loss of beads..(Priced according to these things)
Comes Gift Boxed

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING
I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try my hardest to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color. But please realize that all monitors are different, so the materials can look brighter (or duller) from one computer to the next.

To provide you with close up photos providing you with all the fine detail, pictures tend to make the item look GIGANTIC & everything is more magnified than in actuality. .So to get an accurate idea of how big this is, please pull out a tape measure or ruler & compare to my given measurements listed above.