✅ SOLVED Questions about a belt buckle

[invent4hir]

This belt buckle was found partially buried behind a barn. The present owner, who has lived there more than 30 years, said they had never seen it before. I found a similar buckle on Etsy that claims to be from the 1980s. It is shown on the left in the pictures. However, the construction of mine appears different as seen on the right. Also it lacks markings. I tested for silver (with bleach) and the result was negative. Given the amount of scale on it when first found – it reminds me of pewter or pot/white metal. Also I believe the stone to be faux turquoise.

Answers to the questions below will help me write an accurate description to accompany the buckle in an educational display case to be donated to the local historical society.

1. What is the approximate date range of when the buckle was manufactured and why?

2. Since no maker’s mark was found is there any way to determine if it was from an Indian trading post? If so, how?

 

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[BAW]

Back around 1980 or so the "Southwest look" became a popular fad in the U.S. I remember seeing trays of Navajo jewelry in the jewelry department at Sears, and rubber saguaro cactus and "kiva ladders" made of logs were in demand for home decoration. These were fashion accesries, made for trend followers, not collectors, and inexpensive "Southwestern style" jewelry and other artifacts served the purpose just as well as authentic Indian-made items and were much cheaper than the real thing.
It is quite possible that your buckle dates from this fad, though no doubt such things are still made today, though in lesser numbers than in the time of their greatest popularity. It is so obviously not an authentic Indian-made buckle that most dealers in Indian art would not have handled it for fear of casting doubt on the authenticity of their other merchandice. It also would have antagonized their suppliers of real Indian jewelry, who view machine-made base metal copies of their traditional art to be a form of unfair competition. It is more likely to have come from a roadside souveneir store, department store or mail order catalog.

 

[invent4hir]

BAW thanks for replying and you bring up several good points. Before posting I did some research and was aware of the fad you describe. Because the buckle I found is of inferior quality, both in terms of material and finish, I was already leaning towards that inexpensive "Southwest style" direction - but your explanation gives additional reasons. I'm not sure if the cruder appearance than the one on Etsy - means my buckle is older or just different manufacturer. Will give some more thought & hope someone with more knowledge about jewelry casting techniques can shed some light. Either way by the end of the month I'll meet with the Curator and present my finds for the season.

 

[invent4hir]

All, here is what a jeweler told me today after looking at the buckle.

Style: Southwestern
Age: unknown
Material: Pot metal; plastic turquoise stone. May have had a real stone at one time b/c she sees glue around the edges of the plastic stone.

Manufacturing: Believes it is a one-off; not from a manufacturer, b/c no manufacturer would let a piece that poor quality go through. She believes the crack occurred during casting as there was probably poorly mixed molten metal at that location.

Thanks to BAW, the jeweler plus what I researched we're close enough - so will mark this SOLVED!

 

[dognose]

I still have a few pewter buckles from the 70s with red coral and turquoise. none had a makers mark.

very similar styles I recall from then.