Genuine Sleeping Beauty TURQUOISE Bear Claw Sterling Silver Belt Buckle * SIGNED * 2159-BB
This buckle is just full of character. This Sterling Silver buckle features three sky blue nuggets of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise (the Tiffany of Turquoise). It also holds a Bear Claw offering this impressive display of Sterling Silver some classic earth tones. Plus, the shining image of the mighty bear in Sterling Silver makes this buckle an impressive work of wearable art to make a strong statement with. Sterling Silver flowers & leaves, hand twisted Sterling Silver wire, hand made Sterling Silver coils, and large 'Navajo Tear Drops' come together to give this buckle a high shine. This buckle is 2-3/8" by 2-7/8" with a 1-1/2" keeper on the back. made in our shop by Bo Turnbo and Tim Wiehe, Stamped Sterling and signed by the artist. VERY VERY NICE !!!!!!! In Indian folklore it is said that there was once a chief with turquoise colored skin. One day he was running from his enemies in the hot desert. Whenever he stopped to rest, his perspiration ran onto the ground, collected in rocks and became turquoise. There are many legends about Turquoise; The Pima consider it to bring good fortune and strength and that it helped overcome illness. The Zuni believe that blue turquoise was male and of the sky and green turquoise was female and of the earth. Pueblo Indians thought that its color was stolen from the sky. In Hopi legend the lizard who travels between the above and the below, excretes turquoise and that the stone can hold back floods. The Apache felt that turquoise on a gun or bow made it shoot straight. The Navajo consider it as good fortune to wear and believe it could appease the Wind Spirit. A potent source of strength was the bear, whose powers were often invoked before entering battle. Warriors sometimes painted their faces with marks resembling bear claw scratches and carried double-edged knives with handles carved from the jawbones of bears as good luck charms. It was believed that bear power could also cure illness. Shamans or medicine men from many different groups frequently dressed as bears when working to heal the sick. Just as honoring the bear spirit could bring blessings to people, provoking the spirit might bring them harm. For that reason, some tribes, most notably the Apache, forbade their hunters to kill a bear, or even to touch the carcass of one found dead in the woods. |