Fantastic bear paw interpretations on the three paws—very clean with long claws and superb texturing within. One of the great things about Hopi overlay pieces is that when the recesses are textured, they are done with one chisel strike at a time, rendering a single dot with each strike. The labor intensity of this technique is considerable and this bracelet is a wonderful example of Hopi overlay texturing. The unusual hallmark is in question—looks like a glowing quarter moon and is not represented in any of my reference books (including a Hopi specific volume) or on my internet references, leading me to believe that this talented artisan produced for a short time period (probably in the 1950s) and was not concerned with the commercial aspect of his work—the piece was probably made for a fellow Native American. The bracelet measures 5.75” around the inside plus a 1.25” gap and weighs 45 grams. The face height is 1 1/16”. This is a nice large man’s bracelet, in excellent condition with light age patina (it appears to have been recently polished) and the unusual hallmark gives the bracelet considerable collect-ability.
