Leon Martinez-Early Phase Navajo Concho Belt-L@@K Start Price USD 1,650.00 Current Price USD 1,650.00 Time Left 8 days 13 hours 12 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, September 19, 2008 End Time Saturday, January 17, 2009 Location Gallup, New Mexico See more about 'Leon Martinez-Early Phase Navajo Concho Belt-L@@K' Description Leon Martinez-Early Phase Navajo Concho Belt-L@@K   Artist: Navajo Leon Martinez Stone: All Silver Age:New Size:49" Length, 3 1/2" x 2 7/8" Buckle. 3 7/8" x 3 1/4" Conchos Description:Their will always be a debate concerning when the Navajo People first learned silver and for that matter who the first silversmith was. We do know that early silver work was very crude and simple. We talk to many older artists in the Trading Post who will tell us about how different it is making silver today than it was when they first learned. Early belts had cut out centers like this piece made by Navajo smith Leon Martinez. The reason was that the smith had tools to hammer out the silver and decorate it with simple stamp designs, but did not have the ability to use a torch to solder on concho backings. A cut out allowed the belt to be weaved through the silver. Leon has made the buckle with another early technique, sandcasting. The belt has a big look and will be very impressive looking every time you put it on.   About Me Place a Bid!