North American Auction Company
Live Auction

The West Rides Again: Tombstone Museum Part II, Western Art & Navajo Treasures

Sat, Nov 15, 2025 11:00AM EST
  2025-11-15 11:00:00 2025-11-15 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : The West Rides Again: Tombstone Museum Part II, Western Art & Navajo Treasures https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/the-west-rides-again-tombstone-museum-part-ii-western-art-navajo-treasures-21122
Join North American Auction Company on November 15th for Part II of the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Collection with other rare items. This extraordinary sale features the largest private collection of Tombstone history, including rare and historic pieces tied to Wyatt Earp, the Earp Brothers, and the infamous Cochise Cowboys. From original artifacts, outlaw relics, and C.S. Fly photographs, this is a can’t-miss event for collectors of the Old West’s most legendary chapter.
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Lot 80

Zuni Sterling & Multi-Stone Inlay Ring, Ortega

Estimate: $750 - $1,500
Starting Bid
$250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
Included in this lot is a Vintage Zuni Sterling Silver Multi-Stone Inlay Ring by Gilbert Ortega, circa 1960s-1980s. The ring features a wonderfully and professionally crafted sterling silver and multi-stone channel inlay construction that shows an inlay center arrangement that includes turquoise, lapis lazuli, sugilite and jet. Channel inlay is a distinctive jewelry technique closely associated with Native American people of the Southwest, particularly jewelers of Zuni Pueblo. When creating channel inlay jewelry, artists set precisely cut gemstones into pre-formed silver channels. The technique allows artists to use colorful combinations of gemstones in complex and creative patterns. Channel inlay requires masterful silversmithing and lapidary skills and is utilized by Native American jewelers to create magnificent jewelry pieces recognized for their craftsmanship and beauty as art. Gilbert Ortega was a renowned American-Indian art dealer originally from Navajo County, Arizona, who grew up working in his father's reservation trading post on Route 66 in Lupton. In the 1930s, Arizona's trading posts were a peak period for this institution, acting as vital economic and cultural hubs on reservations, especially for the Navajo Nation. These posts functioned as general stores, exchanging goods like flour and coffee for wool, livestock, and increasingly, Native American art like rugs and jewelry. The inside shank features a hallmark attributed to Gilbert Ortega Enterprises, "SO". The ring is in preserved condition, minor repair noted between head and inlay otherwise ring in good overall condition with patina consistent with age. Measures size 10, .75" x .875" x 1", collective weight is 18.4 grams.

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