Gus Keene, Sr.
Name-card placeholder — hallmark imagery to follow.
Overview
Gus Keene, Sr. is a Navajo silversmith active since the 1950s, and the head of a documented smithing family — father of Adrian Keene (Roy) and Gus Keene, Jr., both of whom carry entries of their own.
Collector's caution: The scan of Hougart's entry is rough here. The name heading itself is garbled — his identity is fixed by his children's entries, which each name "Gus Keene, Sr." as father — and the qualifier on his GUS mark is also garbled (it prints "undera beot-l," reading uncertainly as "under a bent" something; the full reading needs verification against a physical copy). With three Keene-family smiths documented, read stamp, period, and style together before attributing.
The Mark
"·••St (Na,ajo) [headword garbled in scan; identity fixed as Gus Keene, Sr. by his children's entries]. Adivesim:e 1950s [reads 'Active since 1950s']. Fatherof Adrian and Gus Keene, Jr. Mark: GUS (undera beot-l [garbled in scan; reads as 'under a bent —' qualifier incomplete])"
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
The marks as documented in the Hougart corpus: GUS (under a bent — qualifier garbled in the scan; verify at physical source).
References - Hougart, Bille. *Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks*, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022.
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