J1384 Small Navajo Tray
A small vintage Navajo silver stamped tray with 20 turquoise cabochons around the edge. This piece is made out of a heavy gauge silver. It sits on four round shaped silver feet. It has a repeating pattern around the plate with a thunderbird pattern.
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The tray was made by Tom Dewitt who is known for his “old style” silver pieces., inspired by silverwork from the 1880’s-1940’s. An extension in the center with 10 turquoise cabochons can hold business cards, matches, or ?? The hallmark on the bottom is crossed arrows. 6" x 6" x 3 1/4"
About the artist
Tom Dewitt
(American, 1947-2021)
Anglo Santa Fe artist Tom Dewitt is known for creating “old style” silver pieces. He is inspired by silverwork from the 1880’s-1940’s. Tom’s work regularly is mistaken for being much older than it is.
Tom has been creating retro-style jewelry for over four decades and sells his work in galleries around the country.
Tom was born in Michigan and raised in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Venice High in 1965. He began his silver- smith career directly after school while also working as a lighting technician for major venues in L.A. during the wave of the 1960's psychedelic rock & roll concerts. He eventually landed a job with Fox Studios working as an electrician for long-running TV series' such as M.A.S.H., Dragnet, The Love Boat, and others. He also worked on some big films; The Doors, Lonesome Dove, Natural Born Killers, The Missing, and others. He made frequent trips to Santa Fe starting when he was 21 to buy and sell jewelry, trade and pick up tools.
He made New Mexico his home in the 1970s settling in Pojoaque as a silversmith also returning to L.A. for work in the movie and TV business. He was one of the original "Anglo Silversmiths" in New Mexico and a trader. He called his jewelry "old pawn while you wait" because it looked like the old Native American jewelry found in pawn shops. He had a special relationship with the Zuni Pueblo and revered the culture and artistic styles of the Native American silversmiths and artisans.
He sold to major galleries in Santa Fe and had a line with Ralph Lauren in the early 2000s. He was extremely talented and people from all over the world collected his work. Tom was a silversmith for 52 years making over 20,000 pieces of southwestern and cowboy style jewelry and art.
