Philander Begay is a Navajo silversmith who works in the sandcast technique, hand-carving his molds from soft, porous limestone (learn more about Tufa) and casting molten silver in them to create one-of-a-kind bracelets, buckles, bolo ties and pendants. Like Gilbert Dino Garcia (who also uses very soft tufa for carving), Philander's cast pieces show exquisite detail. Philander carves his designs into both sides of his two-piece molds so that his pieces show a cast design on both surfaces. Each of his pieces is truly a one-of-a-kind work because the mold itself does not survive the casting process intact.

This oval-shaped buckle has nice stippling to its surface and displays wonderful detail in the bas relief rendering of a grazing Appaloosa under a full moon. A narrow lip defines the edge of the buckle. The back of the buckle shows Shiprock in northwest New Mexico with a shooting star. This buckle is made to fit a standard-width western belt.

The hallmark appears as the cast initials "PBB" and ".925" was also hand-carved into the mold to indicate this piece is Sterling (92.5% pure silver).

Overall dimensions of buckle: 3 1/2" x 2 3/8"

Fits 1 3/8" to 1 1/2" width belt