Roger Wheeler pewter and glass beetle/scarab pendant, 1998

This pendant is 1.5" long x .75" wide, signed and dated on the bottom. It is made of cast pewter with a green glass stone. It is an awkward size, a bit small for pendant and a bit large for charm bracelet pendant. The detailing is very good but it is not fancy. Definitely artisan work, not fine jewelry. This American (Minnesota) artist made a lot of small pewter items, jewelry and novelties. He died in 2015 at the age of 70. There is quite of bit of his work on on line auction sites, right now, maybe from the liquidation of his estate?

Loosely quoted from his obituary:

"A self-educated brilliant artisan that worked in many mediums though out his long career beginning with drawing in pen & ink, charcoals & oil painting. At the age of 30 he began hand metal engraving that led to jewelry making, metal casting & molding his original production pieces. "