Vintage Navajo Ketoh/Bow Guard, Sandcast - Tufa
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:961074 | Artisan: Unsigned |
| Tribal Affiliation: Navajo | Origin: Native American |
| Featured Refinements: Ketoh with corn stalk design |
Silver on this piece is 3.5" long, 2.5" across. It is cast with a corn stalk design at the center. Corn is one of the 4 sacred plants. This piece is on a black leather bracer (or sheath) that is 4.5" high, 4" across the "front" and is 11" long when laid flat. It has leather ties on one inside end with holes punched on the other inside end. It weighs 4.9 oz.
Navajo Indian archers wore wrist guards called ketohs (GAY-toe) to protect their for...earms from the snap of their bowstrings. Navajo silversmiths adapted the ketoh form into decorative jewelry.
Tufa stone is a compressed volcanic ash material that is found on the Navajo reservation. It is easier to carve than sandstone and its porous surface leaves a unique texture once the metal has cooled. The artist’s design is carved into the flat surface on the inside of the mold. The negative space carved away will be filled with molten silver or gold.
Tufa stone is very fragile and most silversmiths will only get one good cast from each mold. Nearly all tufa cast pieces are one-of-a-kind as the mold will literally break after casting.
Navajo Indian archers wore wrist guards called ketohs (GAY-toe) to protect their for...earms from the snap of their bowstrings. Navajo silversmiths adapted the ketoh form into decorative jewelry.
Tufa stone is a compressed volcanic ash material that is found on the Navajo reservation. It is easier to carve than sandstone and its porous surface leaves a unique texture once the metal has cooled. The artist’s design is carved into the flat surface on the inside of the mold. The negative space carved away will be filled with molten silver or gold.
Tufa stone is very fragile and most silversmiths will only get one good cast from each mold. Nearly all tufa cast pieces are one-of-a-kind as the mold will literally break after casting.
