Sterling Silver “Turtle Entering Water” Belt Buckle [SOLD]

Roderick Tenorio and his wife, Marilyn, often collaborate on making jewelry and each also works separately.  This buckle is a collaborative effort. It features a turtle overlaid on a darkened background in a typical overlay technique. 

Roderick graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1981, then attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.  He served time in the U. S. Army.  He is a top prizewinning artist. Marilyn Tenorio is a Navajo and works in mosaic inlay as well as silver and gold jewelry.

The turtle is the focal point of the buckle.  The design on the turtle’s shell is intricate, part of which are triangles, side by side, alternating with some with fine lines and adjacent ones of plain silver.  A wide band crosses in the center of the shell and it is very intricately designed with small rectangles, stepped elements and miniature circles.  The detail can only be appreciated by close examination.  The buckle is stamped with the artists’ initials RMT and a looped rope element.

This buckle was purchased by the previous owner directly from the artists in Santa Fe in July 1988.

Condition: very good condition with very minor scratches on the edge.

Provenance: from the estate of a long-time client of Adobe Gallery who amassed a collection of 40 belt buckles, all of which we hopefully will be posting on-line.

Reference: American Indian Jewelry III--M-Z: 2,100 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf