Apache Sterling Silver Jan Loco “Warrior Spirit” Bolo Tie [SOLD]

C4460A-bolo.jpg

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Jan Loco, Apache Jeweler
  • Category: Bola Tie, Bolo Tie
  • Origin: Apache, American Indians
  • Medium: sterling silver, leather
  • Size: 3” x 2” arrow
  • Item # C4460A
  • SOLD

Close up view of the silver bolo.

Jewelry designed with forged hand-hammered finishes has become an accepted trademark of Warm Springs Apache jeweler Jan Loco.  This sterling silver hand forged silver arrowhead bolo/bola tie is typical of that style.  Inscribed on verso is “Warrior Spirit”, J. Loco. The arrowhead is equipped with a pair of silver wire loops on verso through which the leather is inserted. The arrowhead could be removed from the leather and used for threading a neck scarf should a woman wish to wear it in that manner. The leather tips are encased in silver.

Artist Signature and title - Jan Loco, Apache JewelerApache Native Jan Loco (b.1949-) began making jewelry in 1988. She developed a unique method of creating jewelry without the use of any power tools.  Using only heavy-duty shears, she cut and fashioned her piece to the desired shape, after which she hammered it with a specially selected rock until she achieved the desired texture.  This is a laborious task, but she felt it honored her ancestry to use items of nature rather than power tools.

Jan Loco became interested in Apache symbolism and legend when, as a young adult, she discovered her Apache ancestry. Her work is inspired by the stories of her ancestors, incorporating designs reflecting the heavens, Apache legends as well as plants and animals of the Apache homeland.  She did not learn of her Warm Springs Apache heritage from her adoptive parents until she was an adult. It was then that she learned she was the great granddaughter of Chief Loco, one of the last of the Apache chiefs, who had been imprisoned in Florida in 1886 by the U. S. Government.

Jan Loco no longer is making jewelry.  She moved from New Mexico some years ago and her whereabouts are unknown.


Note: New Mexico passed a non-binding measure to designate the bolo as the state's official neckwear in 1987. On March 13, 2007, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed into law that the bolo tie was the state's official tie.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Apache Sterling Silver Jan Loco "Warrior Spirit" Bolo Tie is from the collection of a resident of Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: American Indian Jewelry II: A-L, 1,800 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

Relative Links: jewelryApacheJan Loco, Apache Jeweler

Silver tips