Gus Keene, Jr.
Name-card placeholder — hallmark imagery to follow.
Overview
Gus Keene, Jr. is a Navajo silversmith active since the 1970s, the son of Gus Keene, Sr. and brother of Adrian Keene (Roy) — a working family of three documented smiths.
Collector's caution: Three Keene-family smiths are documented with related marks, so weigh stamp, period, and style together before deciding whose hand made a piece. On top of that, the qualifier on this mark is garbled in the scan of Hougart's entry — it prints "and abitd," which reads as "and a bird," but that reading is a best guess until verified against a physical copy.
The Mark
"Gus Keene, Jr. (Navajo). Aetive since 1970s [scan reads 'Active']. Son of Gus Keene, Sr. Brother of Adrian Keene. Mark: KEENE (and abitd [garbled in scan; reads as 'and a bird'])"
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), entry at approx. scan line 18099.
The marks as documented in the Hougart corpus: KEENE (and a bird — tail of the qualifier garbled in the scan).
References - Hougart, Bille. *Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks*, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Entry at approx. scan line 18099.
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