Native-American-Indian Jewelry ~ Tips and Info, by purplejammy

 

We've collected most all types of jewelry during our years of dabbling - we hold the utmost respect and adoration for genuine American-Indian hand-crafted jewelry. Southwest-American-Indian jewelry has always been one of our best favorites (yet we also collect some of the Alaska-Native-made jewelry too). We know many pseudoexperts, and we know some bonafide experts on the subject of genuine Native-American-Indian jewelry. We are not in either of those categories, we're simply people who love (and collect) this jewelry. A portion of our love for it genre came from our own American-Indian heritage. We've collected & studied, sold and traded truckloads of American Indian jewelry items during our years of being into it - it's an amazingly fascinating jewelry art form with a rich long history. Our collections began as children when a beloved Cherokee greatgrandmother passed and willed us all of her jewelry which included her old pawn. She had boxes overflowing with silver and turquoise jewelry and other stones as well, we still have all her old jewelry. To us, there's really nothing more beautiful than American Indian Jewelry; as a fashion perk this jewelry is versatile and workable with many fashion and wardrobe styles colors fabrics. Put on stunning, bold turquoise and silver American Native-made jewelry over your bronzed tanned skin and wear an all white outfit....and you'll easily be the bell of any ball. The silver-metalwork and jewelry-work in these tribal art forms is treasured by collectors worldwide.

We used to have shops during a period back in the 1970s when this gorgeous jewelry was experiencing another strong revival of peak popularity in certain areas of the USA. We traveled frequently to the American Southwest -New Mexico, Arizona, etc - and went to the reservations, homes, studios, galleries of the actual Indian artisans where we bought jewelry directly from them. We still go occasionally, although things have changed somewhat over years past, and we don't go as much anymore.

If you're a newcomer to this lovely genre of jewelry, you should educate yourself so you'll know what you're doing and know what you're getting if you plan on buying, collecting it. We suggest that you access all the many resources available, they are endless (museums, shows, galleries, studios, libraries, speicalty shops, etc). We feel that the style, history, and culture of this jewelry are totally unique and really can't be compared to anything world-over. Handcrafted American-Indian sterling silver and turquoise etc jewelry are unique, they are one of a kind. They are not typically 'cranked-out' items! We have always felt that's the one major characteristic of this jewelry that many wearers and serious
collectors value most about it.

Please Do NOT get your genuine American Indian-artisan-made jewelry confused with any other jewelry form such as Tibetan, Thai, Turkish, etc etc. And please study so that you'll be knowledgeable about the other jewelry of silver & turquoise etc that is rather similar to the 'real thing', as we put it. Genuine Native American Indian jewelry is NOT assembled in the Philippines or anywhere else EXCEPT the locations of the Native American Indian artisans who make it. We have nothing against any other jewelry art forms, as over the years we've collected most all types and kinds of jewelry, but let's get the facts straight if you're going to be a serious, savvy collector of genuine American-Native-Indian jewelry.

 

Some experts say Southwestern Native American Indian Silver and Turquoise jewelry has been around for approximately 1 and a half centuries, others say different. Through studies we've found that Native American Indian Turquoise Jewelry actually dates back to about 200 BC. Digs in Southern Arizona have proven it, and as well, digs in Mexico & South America have unearthed more proof.

This amazingly gorgeous jewelry is thought to have been started by the Navajos who were or are the largest tribe in America. Along about the 1850s the first famous blacksmith to make silver jewelry was a Navajo called Atsidi Sani. He was trained by a Mexican blacksmith, then went on to forge
his art and later he even taught family members his craft. Sani experimented indepth with silver in the 1860s. There are other famed and notable blacksmiths of that era but no space here to mention. Blacksmiths, as you may know, had always manufactured & fabricated functional, needed items such as knives, tools, weapons, equine items, etc. After the 1860s Navajo American battles, Indian jewelry made of artful silverwork truly came into its own and started actually being profitable. The Navajos had been subjected to other metals like copper during that time, and when they went back to their lands much of the jewelrywork was made of copper. Silver was actually the metal that early artists were most fond of, and the Navajos attained silver through their trading of American & Mexican coins. The Navajo obtained the coins from trades & dealings with the traders and merchants of Mexico and America who established trading posts on their reservations.

Turquoise seems to be the major semi-precious gemstone that Native American Indian jewelry is known for; it became more dominant in American Indian jewelry around the turn of the century, when tourism created a market along the routes of the railroads. Until this time the jewelry had been made
almost exclusively for the Indians themselves to use as statements of their family wealth, success, and

standing in their community. The spectacular metalworks and stoneworks lapidary of early artisans remains magnificent as always and certainly carries over into the Native American Indian jewelry seen in today's modern markets.

Early NAVAJO silverwork focused on items such as bracelets, necklaces, tobacco flasks, etc. Other jewelry items evolved from those early items. We know the Navajo Indians have always held turquoise in high regard. Turquoise has existed for many centuries. Some techniques & tools used in making
Navajo jewelry were adapted from the various people the Indians interacted with - Spanish, Mexican, etc.

ZUNI - Zuni Jewelry is known for the needlepoint and inlay. The ZUNI had experienced demand for their turquoise needlepoint and petitpoint jewelry made of inlaid stones and other materials. They had
learned well the art of silversmithing and were noted for setting elaborate designs - animals, religious, etc- alongside each other with various stones. Note also that by the 1950s the Hopi were marketing their fine, ornate silver overlay-work.

HOPI - Hopi jewelry is known for the sterling-silver overlay with 2 SS layers, the top layer typically being cut-out in symbols such as animals, plants, bear paws, other designs that reflect the Hopi lifestyles.

Natural Turquoise comes directly from the mine - it's NOT lab-created stone. Genuine Turquoise consists of copper, aluminum, and phosphorus yet other elements can replace them, thus changing the structure of the molecules (chalcosiderite is seen where iron replaces aluminum and faustite is seen
where zinc replaces aluminum). Turquoise is generally seen in locations with volcanic or thermal history.

Matrix is the host rock where turquoise actually forms.

Some of the famous mines for various colors of Turquoise (some mines produce several colors) are Lander, Lone Mountain, Red Mountain, Skyhorse, Bisbee, Tyrone, Morenci.

We know that back in the early days the blues with no matrix seems to have been the more prized turquoise - but we also love the Spider Webs and some of the greens etc.

Fake turquoise has been around for hundreds of years and used in various art forms.

Grading Turquoise - approximately less then one-percent of all turquoise is gem quality and we see different grades of stones depending on characteristics (luster, hardness, matrix balance, etc). Stones are rated from the top of the line hard and highly lustrous, which are very high grade and used in good-quality jewelry, and on down. Note that turquoise for most better jewelry will display good hardness and feel and is not color-shot. Bulk or chip stock turquoise is soft, brittle. Many artists and collectors value stones from some of the famed mines now closed such as the Lander Mine in Nevada which closed many years back. Specific factors were used to judge and grade tuquoise (if the color did not change - that was termed old rock and graded a gem). In early days pure blue stone could be gem quality but the veined or matrix-ridden stone was not considered a gem stone.

Turquoise varies from about 2 - nearly 6 on the Mohs ( Know your Mohs Scale, it's important when dealing with gems).

 

Squash Blossom Necklace - it's the symbol that seems to first come to our minds when we think of American Indian jewelry - most serious collectors will have at least one grand squash necklace in their troves and they know the origin of the squash. The squash blossom necklace developed slowly over
the years and is deep-rooted in traditional American Indian history. The crescent-shaped hanging segment of the squash is easily & quickly recognizable to anyone who knows anything about this jewelry. It's said that the equine decorations of the Conquistadors of Spain influenced the squash - those items had been traded back in the late 1500s - early 1600s and were prized by the Indians, they were ceremonious and had agricultural connections (pomegranites, squash). Those shapes and designs had even earlier Moorish characteristics. The Squash evolved into the styles we see today and the  American Indians added silver beads, coins, etc. which actually developed into what we know as
the squash. The necklace is believed to be Navajo in original design, and it's accepted that the Zuni added the turquoise (and yes! of course you will see squash necklaces that are simply all silver - we adore the really Elaborate ones). Some say the Squash Blossom necklace didn't exist before 1880. There's more to the story, so study and learn on your own if you like the Squash necklaces & their history.

 

Old Pawn - If you collect authentic old American Indian-made jewelry you will frequently hear the terms Old Pawn, and Dead Pawn. Dead pawn is jewelry that was never redeemed - it was lost in trades through pawning to traders and posts that sometimes took advantage of the Indians. For many years in the early days the Southwest American Indians traded their products, including their hand-made jewelry, at trading posts and they could secure loans on goods they needed by leaving their family jewelry and other items as security for the goods they needed. We hear the term old-pawn
because of that practice. Pawning was later prohibited by the government in the 1950s. Old pawn jewelry is basically Indian-made jewelry that was held by traders as security or a collateral guarantee for loans of cash or goods traded ( if the Indians did not repay their loans or return the trade or money within the agreed timeframe, the trader kept the Indian jewelry, rugs, or whatever had been taken in as 

loan guarantee). In the early years some products like staple foods & fuels were not available in the  remote areas of the Navajo homeland, the dinetah. Trading Posts, as they were called, were started in 1860s by the United States Department of Indian Affairs to guide the treatytrade (they later were privately owned stores and basically similar in nature to our updated versions of department stores or mercantiles of the modern world). When Indians and their families needed cash etc they could get it at the trading posts and they left their treasured items such as their old family jewelry, rugs, blankets, etc, as a guarantee that they would redeem their pawned items at the due date (many times the Indians could not meet terms so the traders kept their pawned goods). Sometimes jewelry and other personal trappings of a deceased family member were pawned at the posts for money or goods (keeping the personal belongings of a deceased family member was considered to be bad luck by some Indians).

Southwestern American Indian Jewelry made by post WWII artists and silversmiths is highly prized in the USA & globally by some collectors. We can't possibly mention all of the great American-Indian artisans in this brief yet to mention a few of the more sought after artisans of that era we must note Preston Monongye, Charles Loloma, Kenneth Begay, George Kee, Affie Calavza, Virgil Dishta, and the list seems unending. American Indian jewelry that's dated between 1880 and 1900 seems to be extremely collectible.

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(NOTE : Our words belong solely to us, purplejammy on eBay - we love sharing our knowledge & information, as well as experiences & expertise if you would call it that. Again, we're not experts on any subject & don't claim to be such - we've been around the old jewelry circuits for many many years, we know a lot, we do not know everything (who does?) - we've collected & studied globally, we've researched & still do, we've apprasied, traveled, showed, presented, traded, bought, sold, bartered....you name it....we've been involved with most all kinds styles types eras of jewelry from many various countries worlwide over a 40 + year time frame).