PROVENANCE:

This historically made barrette 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 barrette came from her collection & I will be listing a few more pieces that their daughter brought in that belonged to her Mom.(If you check under the “necklace” category, you’ll find a Grape Necklace/Earring Set, as well as a hand beaded Sioux Hummingbird Belt Buckle that I’ve posted that’s listed under the “Concho belt-Accessories”+ category)

SPECIFICS:

ARTIST: Unknown

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Navajo

CIRCA MADE: 1960’s (Give or take)

METAL: Sterling Silver (Acid Tested positive for Sterling on the Top-Stainless Barrette Mechanism(?)

METAL FINISH: Natural Patina-Oxidized

MEASUREMENT: 2-5/8" X 5/8"

WEIGHT: 10 Grams

MATERIAL: Turquoise-Sterling

BARRETTES “USABLE” PORTION: 2-1/8” (For thin hair or small portion head of hair)

TURQUOISE SIZE: About 2.5 mm

BEZELS: Serrated

CONDITION: Excellent! The only thing I see is a little wear on one of the serrated bezels. All the stones however, are in there good.

HALLMARK: None (Typical of era or if there was, it may be under the barrette itself.

Comes Gift Boxed.

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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. 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.