Navajo
American Southwest
1930
Sterling silver and turquoise
Necklace length 26 in / 66 cm
Naja 2 3/4 in / 7 cm
168.85 grams
Provenance: Larry Frank, Taos, New Mexico
This Navajo necklace follows the squash blossom form but replaces the usual blossom beads with a row of flat silver tabs, alternating them with natural turquoise nuggets along each side of the strand. The silver beads are hand-formed and graduate toward the front, where a double crescent naja hangs with small hand-shaped terminals at its tips. The turquoise is set as irregular nuggets rather than shaped cabochons, keeping the natural outline and matrix of each stone.
In place of standard blossoms, the maker used repeating silver tabs, an uncommon variation on a form usually defined by rounded blossom beads. The naja descends from Spanish and Moorish metalwork and entered Navajo silver as both ornament and protective motif, here given extra presence by the paired crescents and their hand-shaped terminals. At 26 inches and just under 169 grams, the necklace carries the scale and weight of a piece made to be worn for ceremony and display.
Larry Frank was a collector and scholar of Southwestern and Spanish Colonial art based in Taos, New Mexico. He was the co-author of Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868 to 1930, published in 1978, and New Kingdom of the Saints: Religious Art of New Mexico, 1780 to 1907, published in 1992, both standard references in their fields.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Navajo
American Southwest
1930
Sterling silver and turquoise
Necklace length 26 in / 66 cm
Naja 2 3/4 in / 7 cm
168.85 grams
Provenance: Larry Frank, Taos, New Mexico
This Navajo necklace follows the squash blossom form but replaces the usual blossom beads with a row of flat silver tabs, alternating them with natural turquoise nuggets along each side of the strand. The silver beads are hand-formed and graduate toward the front, where a double crescent naja hangs with small hand-shaped terminals at its tips. The turquoise is set as irregular nuggets rather than shaped cabochons, keeping the natural outline and matrix of each stone.
In place of standard blossoms, the maker used repeating silver tabs, an uncommon variation on a form usually defined by rounded blossom beads. The naja descends from Spanish and Moorish metalwork and entered Navajo silver as both ornament and protective motif, here given extra presence by the paired crescents and their hand-shaped terminals. At 26 inches and just under 169 grams, the necklace carries the scale and weight of a piece made to be worn for ceremony and display.
Larry Frank was a collector and scholar of Southwestern and Spanish Colonial art based in Taos, New Mexico. He was the co-author of Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868 to 1930, published in 1978, and New Kingdom of the Saints: Religious Art of New Mexico, 1780 to 1907, published in 1992, both standard references in their fields.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
