Vintage Ranger Buckle

Ranger buckles in were extremely popular among Native Americans, Navajo, Apache in particular. Fastened to gunbelts, this style put turquoise in the mix.

This ranger is sandcast, is solid and hefty, probably Navajo in origin. Judging by the very old cotton string, this set likely came from an Old Pawn vault. But reservation pawn was eliminated in the Seventies, so this set has been bound for decades.

The turquoise appears to be Cerrillos and template cut cabochons, so is likely ca.1930s. The Zuni tip was part of an assemblage, replacing a lost one.

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