Sterling silver was poured into a hand-carved tufa stone form to create the bold naja focal point. Considerable lavor was involved in the careful hand finishing of the design surface before the stone setting was fabricated and solder attached.
All the silver sheet and wire used were mill rolled and drawn from ingot. The serrations of the hand-cut bezel were made with a wood roughing file.
A single magnificent natural turquoise was set in this piece. It is an intense dusk blue with red matrix to include some cream white, referred to as Bisbee "rouge". Stone is 1 7/8" height X 1 1/2" width.
Description | Sterling silver was poured into a hand-carved tufa stone form to create the bold naja focal point. Considerable lavor was involved in the careful hand finishing of the design surface before the stone setting was fabricated and solder attached. All the silver sheet and wire used were mill rolled and drawn from ingot. The serrations of the hand-cut bezel were made with a wood roughing file. A single magnificent natural turquoise was set in this piece. It is an intense dusk blue with red matrix to include some cream white, referred to as Bisbee "rouge". Stone is 1 7/8" height X 1 1/2" width. |
---|---|
About the Artist | "Dineh or Diné are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. They are the second largest federally recognized tribe in the United States with over 300,000 enrolled tribal members as of 2015. The Navajo reservation occupies over 27,000 square miles of land in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Navajo language is spoken throughout the reservation with most Navajos speaking English as well." excerpted from Wikipedia
|
Medium | Sterling silver and natural turquoise |
Troy ounces | 2.96 troy ounces |
Size | Naja is 2 3/4" height X 2 13/16" width. Tips are each 3" in length X 1/2" width at the bead |
Signed | Unknown Navajo artist. Only mark is the stamped word "NAVAJO" |
Date of creation | Circa 1950 |
Condition | Excellent |
Turquoise | Natural Bisbee rouge turquoise |
Description | The visual power of this piece lies in its stunning deceptive simplicity. Tufa casting is a process involving reverse carving a desired form in stone, then pouring molten silver into that vacancy, hoping the stone doesn't crack and that the silver flows throughout filling in every detail before it cools. The design surfaces have to be filed and sanded, burnished, then polished. It is sculpture before it becomes jewelry. |
Provenance | CB |
Gram weight | 92.2 grams |