Hopi Silver Overlay Pictorial Belt Buckle [SOLD]

Michael Kabotie graduated from Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1961.  While in his junior year there he was invited to spend the summer at the Southwest Indian Art Project at the University of Arizona.  Participants included Fritz Scholder, Helen Hardin, Charles Loloma and Joe Herrera.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Michael was a spokesman for an association of Hopi painters and artists called the Artist Hopid.  Other members of this group were Terrance Talaswaima, Milland Lomakema, Delbridge Honanie and Neil David, Sr.

Michael was a painter and silversmith. He was from the Second Mesa village Shungopavi at Hopi Pueblo and was the son of famed Hopi artist Fred Kabotie.

This belt buckle demonstrates well Michael’s artistic creativity.  It is not square and the design is not centered.  It is a design to capture one’s attention.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: from the estate of a long-time Adobe Gallery client who had a collection of 40 belt buckles.   Purchased in 1985 from the artist at a San Diego Museum of Man show.

Biographical Reference: American Indian Jewelry III: A-L, 1,800 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf