Pueblo
American Southwest
1920 or earlier
Natural turquoise and shell heishi
Length 26 in / 66 cm
128.25 grams
Provenance: Chris Selser, Tesuque, New Mexico
This Pueblo necklace strings graduated natural turquoise tabs along a strand of fine shell heishi, the tabs building from small stones at the back to large slabs across the front. The turquoise ranges from green to blue with heavy brown matrix, each tab cut and drilled by hand into an irregular natural shape. A cotton wrapped section at the back marks where the strand is tied, a traditional finish on early strung necklaces of this kind.
The stones were drilled with a pump drill, the hand tool used across the Pueblos before power tools, working from both faces to meet in the center. Tab and heishi necklaces are among the oldest Southwestern jewelry forms, worked entirely in drilled stone and shell and predating the introduction of silver. The graduated turquoise and hand cut tabs place this within the early tradition, made to be worn at the neck against the collarbone.
This necklace comes from Chris Selser, a Santa Fe area dealer in early Southwestern and Native American material, based in Tesuque, New Mexico.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Pueblo
American Southwest
1920 or earlier
Natural turquoise and shell heishi
Length 26 in / 66 cm
128.25 grams
Provenance: Chris Selser, Tesuque, New Mexico
This Pueblo necklace strings graduated natural turquoise tabs along a strand of fine shell heishi, the tabs building from small stones at the back to large slabs across the front. The turquoise ranges from green to blue with heavy brown matrix, each tab cut and drilled by hand into an irregular natural shape. A cotton wrapped section at the back marks where the strand is tied, a traditional finish on early strung necklaces of this kind.
The stones were drilled with a pump drill, the hand tool used across the Pueblos before power tools, working from both faces to meet in the center. Tab and heishi necklaces are among the oldest Southwestern jewelry forms, worked entirely in drilled stone and shell and predating the introduction of silver. The graduated turquoise and hand cut tabs place this within the early tradition, made to be worn at the neck against the collarbone.
This necklace comes from Chris Selser, a Santa Fe area dealer in early Southwestern and Native American material, based in Tesuque, New Mexico.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
