Native American Vintage 70's Genuine Turquoise Sterling Silver Squash Blossom Necklace Navajo Made 0400-SQNK
Native American Vintage 70's Genuine Turquoise Sterling Silver Squash Blossom Necklace Navajo Made.
This vintage 70s model Navajo Necklace is an impressive, eye-catching piece of hand made Native American jewelry. This old pawn squash blossom was hand made by a Navajo artisan in the Heart of the Indian Nation. It was bought from a bead store in Albuquerque that trades with the Navajo. This one has been set with genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise nuggets and strung with hand made Sterling Silver bench beads. Turquoise and Silver, it's a classic look of beauty that you can't go wrong with. This necklace was as black as the ace of spades when came to us so we have given it a brushed Santa Fe satin finish to help restore some of its original character. This stunning Squash Blossom is 23" long and has a 2-1/4" by 2-1/4" naja.
The Dine' (or Navajo) People are a unique group of American Indians still living the traditional way of life throughout the four corners region of the Southwestern United States. The Navajo people have returned to the original name, the Dine' (pronounced di-nay'h), given to them by their holy people. The Dine' land (aka Navajo reservation) on top of Oak Creek Canyon is the largest reservation established for the Dine', covering about 25,000 sq. miles of land, and is located in parts of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Navajo were the first of the southwestern Indians to produce metal jewelry. Around the mid-19th Century a Navajo Medicine Man, Atsidi Sani, convinced a Mexican blacksmith to teach him the art of working with metal. When the Navajo returned to their homeland in 1868 after their imprisonment at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, traders arrived in the area bringing silver coins with them. It was with these coins that the Navajo began to make silver jewelry.
The pomegranate was a common Spanish decorator motif, often seen carved or painted on missions in Mexico and often a clothing decoration. If one examined an early Navajo "squash blossom" bead, a striking similarity would be seen to exist between the Mexican ornament and the pomegranate. Still, in spite of the similarities, there is quite a bit of doubt that the Navajo attempted to depict this blossom in his bead. The Navajo word for the "squash blossom" bead is "yo ne maze disya gi" which means simply "bead that spreads out." Nothing in the word denoted squash or pomegranate blossom. Perhaps the word was coined by a white man who, asking a Navajo what the bead represented, (the white man is obsessed with what something means, he is rarely satisfied that something is simply attractive) was told that it looked like a squash blossom (the Navajo understands the white man's obsession and often attempts to satisfy it as painlessly as possible.) It is doubtful that the Navajo intended that the bead represent the squash blossom.
Because the Indian ceremonials largely dealt with the agricultural cycle, and the first jewelry was worn during these occasions, coupled with the fact that the beads along with the chain looked like pomegranates or squash blossoms, all have tended to portray the necklace in a crop-fertility ceremonial light.
We understand the true value and nature of hand crafted Indian art. And, we recognize it's important to know that the artist is truly a member of a Native American tribe. So, to ensure you that this is the real deal, a Certificate of Authenticity has been included with this item.
CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC |
