Navajo Made Genuine Turquoise Sterling Silver Belt Buckle by Verna 0547-BB
Navajo Made Genuine Turquoise Sterling Silver Belt Buckle by Verna.
This Turquoise Belt Buckle is an impressive piece of hand made Navajo jewelry. This buckle features three large cabochons of genuine Turquoise. Traditional Sterling Silver feather and coil designs and hand made Sterling Silver dots frame the Turquoise with a intricate detail. All of the silver work was hand made with cutting, heat and hammering. Turquoise and Sterling Silver, you can never go wrong with that. Made in our shop by Navajo artist Verna Blackgoat. This Turquoise Buckle is about 3-1/2" wide by 2-3/4" (dimensions vary slightly) with a 1-1/2" wide keeper on the back. Stamped Sterling and signed by the artist. Turquoise stones will vary slightly. You'll receive one similar to those pictured in the group below.
Turquoise is one of the most valuable, non-transparent minerals in the jewelry trade. It has been mined for eons since at least 6000 BC by early Egyptians. Today, it is more popular than ever and its use around the world is prolific. The most valuable Turquoise has special characteristics; it is naturally hard the way it was found and features bright blue or green hues. Certain Native Americans called turquoise "Chal-cui-hui-tal", meaning "the highest and most valued thing in the world". Many believe the stone can help protect them from demons or help a person feel intuitively the difference between good and evil as well as protect against accidents and various dangers. To actually see a bright blue nugget of Turquoise on the otherwise gray and dusty desert floor is to know the incredible nature of this stone and will lead anyone to realize what the American Indians have known to be true for millennia - that Turquoise is special, sacred, and has power.
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.
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 |
