Michael Perry is a Navajo artist, and this is the smallest collection on our artist pages and one of the most valuable. Three pieces, each substantial.
Perry was born in Fort Defiance in 1976 and works from a studio next to the horse corral on his place at Nazlini, Arizona. He started making jewelry to bring in extra money while studying for a construction management degree and working other jobs; buyers began entering his pieces in shows, the pieces started winning, and he went full time. His work is now carried by some of the most serious Native American galleries in the country.
He combines three techniques that are usually kept apart: overlay, inlay, and tufa casting. Tufa casting is the oldest of them and the least forgiving. The design is carved in reverse into a block of soft volcanic tufa stone, molten silver is poured in, and the mould is broken to release the piece. Every casting is a one-off, and the stone leaves a faint grained texture on the silver that nothing else reproduces. Get the carving wrong and you start again.
What sets his pieces apart is stone selection. Perry is known for using top-grade natural turquoise and deep oxblood Mediterranean coral, and it shows in this group: a bolo tie, a piece set with Kingman turquoise, and one with Persian turquoise, a material rarely seen in Southwestern work and prized for its even sky-blue colour.
These are heirloom-level pieces and there are only three. If you are considering one, our Old Town Scottsdale showroom has been in business since 1979 and we would rather you saw it in the hand. Compare with Quandelacy at the top of our inlay work, or browse all bolo ties.