Stunning Cerrillos Green Turquoise Cross

This handsome cross was hand crafted by Zuni master, Horace Iule.  His style is well known, enough that earlier unsigned pieces like this can easily be attributed to his hand.  

One very unique thing about this cross is the hand-made endless soldered chain, each link of which is an oval shape of square drawn ingot wire 1/8" in width X 3/16" in length, 1 mm square.

Its design features are deeply defined with hand-stamped "rays" emanating from the head, arms and body of a risen Christ replaced by seven natural turquoise stones. These are a reminder of the earth, water and sky of which are bodies are made to house a spirit living forever.

(Circa 1900 - late 1970's) Taught to make jewelry by his father, Horace Iule was known for his sandcast work, his channel inlay and cluster work as well as his crosses often adorned with set stones of turquoise or coral.  He was a third generation Zuni jeweler, learning silversmithing from his father in 1924 after having learned blacksmithing at the Phoenix Indian School in the early 1920's.  

"He is credited with being the first in 1928 to create jewelry based on Knifewing, the Zuni spirit of the Zenith. Iule carved his sandcast molds out of stone."  Gregory Schaaf's book American Indian Jewelry I 1,200 Artists Biographies