⟨Go Back to Shopping The Gallery

Your Cart

1890 - 1900 Silver & Turquoise Cuff

Navajo

View Full Size Image of 1890 - 1900 Silver & Turquoise Cuff, Jewelry by Navajo

Cultures
Medium
Subject
Keywords


Savvy Price $1,275.00: Gallery Price $1,575.00; Add to Cart Add to my Bridal Registry

Title: 1890 - 1900 Silver & Turquoise Cuff
Artist: Navajo
Medium: High grade silver coin silver and natural turquoise
Size: Cuff measures 4 23/32" end to end with an opening of 27/32". Maximum width of the bracelet is 5/16".
Date of creation: Circa 1890 - 1900
Condition: Normal wear is in evidence. It has never needed or received repair.
Turquoise: Natural North American deep twilight blue makes up 1/2 the surface, with 1/2 area consisting of dark red brown matrix
Description: This cuff was forged from ingot and enhanced with hand-made stamps. Turquoise stone is a square shape 7/32" on each side within squared hand-made bezel.
Provenance: Consigned by an Arizona resident KW; Quick Inquiry Email Friend

About The 1890 - 1900 Silver & Turquoise Cuff

This is not a child's bracelet. It was made with special meaning for a young woman and worn in the last 10 years of the 19th century. The automotible had not invaded the southwest. Plank roads (where there were roads) were made for wagon travel so the wheels wouldn't sink into the sand.

People did their work by sunlight and the flame of an oil lamp or candles. People were also smaller then because life was scratched from the earth, one season to the next, both for Indians and anglos alike in the southwest. The railroad had just been put through Arizona from San Francisco and was making its way across the United States. The Civil War had ended, but the country was still in tatters. The Gold Rush of 49 was still feeding the dreams of a few pioneers. The remainder was land rush residue.

This carefully made, once prized possession of a young Indian woman has survived some intense history--traveling through generations to be the treasured ornament of another spirited young woman's wrist.

Extremely unusual evenly divided stone denotes sky and earth with the blue color representing sky, the brown matrix, earth. Original shape of the bracelet indicates its was worn on the left wrist, earth side down toward the hand. The stone is no accident. It has an almost landscape picture look about it.

About Navajo

The Navajo were the first of the Native Americans of the Southwest to learn silversmithing from the Spanish. Most Navajo jewelry emphasizes silver, with turquoise stones used as an accent. Some pieces are cast in sand or tufa molds, while others are hammered, using a male stamp and a female die.

Other Works By Navajo: